The Wings of a Whisper
by AngelLove6392
Summary: One vicious murder changed her life forever, now that she has a chance, will she serve justice, or let rage cloud her morals and get her revenge?
1. Prologue

Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI NY or Miami, but I do own the new characters and the plotline, as well as a crappy computer that takes so freaking long to boot up.

_The room was bright as the family sat down to eat their dinner. Clouds rolled in hours before the plane landed and Miami's night was almost as dark as the girl's ebony hair. Her 2-year-old brother sat across from her, laughing delightedly. Her father had flown in and her mother and brother had taken the day off to pick him up at the Miami International Airport. Though divorced, her mother and father maintained an amicable relationship. When her parents separated, her mother had shifted the three of them to Miami. _

_The quiet 8, almost 9, year-old barely spoke outside or inside of the family. She and her friends kept contact through e-mail. She made no fuss when her mother announced a job transfer, but after she moved she remained a loner for the year they had been there, preferring to bury herself in her studies. Her IQ was well above average, she could have gone to college at 7, but she chose to remain in high school. Her brother was a spoiled brat, being the only boy in an Asian family, she wasn't surprised or jealous, nor did she mind, she liked being out of the spotlight. She ate slowly tonight, instead of finishing her dinner in her usual 5 minutes, enjoying the small family reunion. She spoke softly, "Daddy, I put your bag upstairs already. Will you be here tomorrow when I get off school?"_

"_Maybe, actually, most likely, why? Did you have somewhere you wanted to take me?" The Asian girl didn't answer, but the twinkle in her eyes told her father all he needed to know._

"_Mommy, do I have to go to school tomorrow? I don't want to!" Her brother pouted, whining incessantly when his mother stood firm. She smiled; no matter how annoying he was he was still her little brother. Yeah, she could get a little overprotective of her family at times, but that was due to the fact that she was more the adult of the household than her parents were. She looked up at the clock hanging on the back wall of the kitchen; the minute hand was on 11 and the hour hand on 9. Picking up her empty bowl and placing it in the sink, she said goodnight and went up to her room to do a little more studying before she went to bed. _

_She opened the 2__nd__ white, wooden door with an elegantly curved, silver lever for a doorknob, on the left side of the hall. She slipped into her room and shut the door behind her lightly. Her room had white walls, a twin size bed lined along the wall, facing the window. Her white desk sat underneath the window, a light pink comforter and bed sheets covered her bed, and her violin stood in a corner by her closet. The lights in the house flickered and then went out as thunder clapped and lightning lit up the night sky. In that small moment a shadow dashed past the living room window. Her father saw the malicious glint of a sharpened ax. He sprinted to the door and set the dead bolts, placing the closest chair under the knob. He turned to the girl's mother and shouted, "Take the kids and hide them!"_

_Aware of the sudden change in tension, the girl looked up from her history notes and, using her small cell phone as a flashlight, she stepped halfway into the hall. She saw her flustered mother ushering her frightened little brother into his room and instructing him to hide in his closet and be quiet. The young child could hear her father frantically shoving the furniture in front of the door even while the manic pounding continued to grow louder every passing minute. Her mom bounded out of her brother's room and steered her into her room quickly, shoving her into her color-coded closet with her backpack occupying a small corner. Her mother, crying and pale, closes the door, but not before saying, "Stay in here, no matter what happens don't come out!" She tried to hang onto her mother's hand; her mom gently pushed her back and closed the door. The light that had filtered in from the crack under the door disappeared._

_She huddled in a corner in the dark, whispering, "No mommy, don't go, bring daddy and brother in here to hide." A loud boom rent the silence and her father's strangled yell echoed through the house. Heavy footsteps, a pause, a sickening crunch, and then silence. Her sensitive ears picked up a whimper and knew it was her brother, he was frightened and she couldn't do a darn thing. Her eyes widened in fear and worry when she heard the footsteps growing closer, an opening door, and crying, pleas of, "Help me, daddy," in Cantonese, "Save me, mommy," and lastly, "My sister won't let you go easily!"_

"_Don't touch my son! Please, don't hurt him!" Her mother's cries rang through the dark. Cackles. Crying cut off, an anguished cry, and running. Her door flung open and her mother tried to resist, fighting teeth and nails, she leaned forward to peer through the crack and bit down hard on her lip, a hand flew to her mouth and nose, smothering any sounds as she saw the blade slice her mother's collarbone diagonally. She saw the flesh split into two; she could make out the bone. Her mother was sobbing now, her right hand holding the wound. _

_The tears well up in the girl's eyes as she tries desperately to keep the tears at bay. The cell phone her mother got her is clutched tightly in her hand against her chest. She thought repeatedly to herself, 'No, not my mother too! I've already lost my dad and kid brother; please don't take my mom. Please!' Her silent pleas did nothing. As he lifted the ax she caught a small rose tattoo on the inside of his wrist, the sadistic grin on the man's face and his icy blue eyes, before he swiped the ax blade down across her mother's throat, blood gushed out onto the floor, the tears fell, slowly at first, then faster and more consistent. Her mother lay there, gasping for air, the monster laughed, he actually laughed. His laughter trailed after him, sending chills down the girl's spine until she heard the front door slam. _

_She jumped out of the closet and went to her mother's side. She lifted her mother's head and tilted her head back slightly. Her mother beckoned her to come closer, the girl leaned in closer, and her free hand gripped her mother's hand tightly, not wanting to let go. She could hear the gurgling blood and as she leaned in closer to her mother's beautiful, but white, face, her mother whispered, "Don't cry, silly girl. Always remember…"_

"_Mommy, what are you talking about, you're going to be okay," the girl insisted through her tears._

"… _I love you." Her mother's hand went limp and her head lolled to the left; her chest was no longer even rising shallowly._

"_No, mommy, please come back. Don't leave me," the girl whimpered, "You can't leave me. Bring daddy and brother back, please." In that instance, the young girl sounded so much like the broken-hearted 5-year-old she never had the chance to be. No reaction._

"_NO!!!"_


	2. Case Open

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any CSIs, but I do own sweet Lin and her deceiving innocent appearance, as well as her training, I know what goes on inside of her head and what happens next. I also own a clean neat room as a result of my OCD.

_No reaction_

"_NO!!!"_

She shot straight up in her in her bed, drenched, as always, in cold sweat. The 14-year-old pulled her knees to her chest and pressed her closed eyes to her raised knees. A moment passed and a cursory glance at the radio alarm clock told her that, once again, she'd woken well before her alarm was set to go off. She cradled her forehead in her right palm and thought wearily, '_Why do I even bother with an alarm; I always end up with at least an hour to spare before I even have to go to work.'_

She unfurled the green comforter and scooted out of bed. The large t-shirt hung off her thin body and her loose sleep pants rustled as she moved around to fix the bed. Her pink sports duffel bag and blue violin case sat in the corner of the room. Her light blue jeans, light pink v-neck sweater and white tank top sat on the desk chair. She grabbed her clothes and she shuffled to the bathroom across the hall. Dawn had just broken and red beams streamed through the little window in the bathroom. She stepped into the shower and let the warm water cascade down her back, clearing out her mind. She changed in the slightly foggy bathroom and pulled on her trainers when she got to the front door.

She went to the backyard in the cool Miami morning and set her training dummy against the farthest fence, her acupuncture needles lined in a belt pouch around her waist. The dummy had many dots along the surface in black. Her sharp eyes zoned in and a slender hand slipped into the pouch, drawing three needles out, the needles flung out toward the dummy and struck three acupoints on the stuffed person with frightening accuracy. Finishing up her target practice with flick of her wrist and five more needles, she moved into an offense position, both arms up, fisted, legs spread out, and steel in her eyes, a sweep kick, left arm chop to the neck, and a few more kicks and punches.

"Remind me never to get on your bad side." The Asian girl picked up her blue notebook and wrote, "_You're lucky I already knew you were there and who you were, otherwise, you would be flat on the ground, unable to move, or make a sound for that matter"_, she showed the African American woman. Alexx Woods laughed, "Well, then I should be thanking my lucky stars that I'm your friend and not your foe." The teenager let out a small chuckle. The two went inside and headed to the kitchen.

"_I think you still have some bacon in the freezer, don't you? And some eggs in the fridge."_

"Yeah, there's still food left, though I really do need to learn how to cook, you should teach me."

"_Is that your way of trying to persuade me, if it is, it wasn't as subtle as you probably wanted it to be." _Alexx smiled. As the medical examiner of the Miami Dade Police Department, Alexx saw far too much death and had learned over time to build an emotional wall, but even then, some cases still got to her. The black-haired innocence sitting in front of her was one those. The girl's shoulder blade-long, gleaming hair glinted in the sunlight and her usual pleasant expression set on her soft features. She sat at the kitchen table now, mixing the eggs she cracked moments earlier. Alexx admired the girl's strength and her strong will; she never ceased to amaze Alexx and the rest of the CSIs, dayshift or nightshift.

Having been through what the majority population has never and should never experience, she never gave up; she worked harder and harder still to bring justice to the victims and their families. Alexx had rarely seen a smile on those thin pink lips or heard more than two comments out of that small, closed mouth of hers. 'It could have been worse,' Alexx reminded herself constantly. When she dropped back into reality, the omelets and bacon were already cooked and the teenager was spooning rations onto five plates, taking the smaller plate for herself. Alexx picked up her plate and sat down, knowing that her companion was being her considerate self and covering the other plates with tin foil to trap the heat in the food. A minute later the Asian pulled out the chair next to Alexx, gently so as not to wake the other occupants of the house. Her notebook and pencil hovering at her elbow, she picked up her silver fork and began eating her breakfast.

The two women finished their breakfast in a comfortable silence, drinking their tea, only getting to their feet when the oven clock read 7:45. Alexx grabbed her briefcase out of her office, coming into the living room to see the girl slinging her light pink and black book bag over her left shoulder.

"Come on, let's get going before the rest of Miami catches up with us and enjoy the little solitude we have left before crimes come along and we barely have time to talk." Alexx said as she put on her shoes and walked outside. The girl closed the door behind her before she wrote, _"We'll have time to talk, the gang all together savoring the special quiet times that are far and few as is.''_

"What is it with kids these days, finding pleasure in having adrenaline rushes and being irresponsible citizens."

"_It wouldn't be Miami _without_ idiots running rampant, thinking that they got away with whatever crime they committed and then getting a wake-up call from us though, would it?"_ The girl responded when they reached a red light.

"Miami's going to be short one fine CSI after tonight, and the fighting angel will no longer be able to protect civilians here, but I think the threat of you coming back should be sufficient enough to keep most of the criminals at bay. Did you know that you're infamous in the law enforcement ranks of Florida now? You've got websites set up by fans and in case you didn't notice, flowers come into the department everyday, for you." The teenager was shaking her head slowly with a confused frown, _"I've never really interacted with the other police departments in Florida, I don't even say much to the cops in our department. Besides, why would I be infamous in the law enforcement ranks? Websites is even more of a mystery to me, it's not as if I do searches of myself. How did you know?"_

"Hun, news travels fast in Miami, especially in the police force. A rookie heard your name plenty of times from many seniorities and curiosity got the better of them, they went on Yahoo!, typed in your name, and there were at least 50 URLs. Then they tried to go to images and of course, nothing came up. I find it a wonder that most would do just about anything to get into the spotlight and here you are doing everything possible to avoid the camera or news. I'm surprised no one has gotten a picture of you or that no reporter has ever managed to catch you on news." Alexx said.

"_That's because one, I am _not_ photogenic. Two, I hate being put on the spot. And three, I blend in pretty well with the shadows. I take off my badge when I know the media is going to be there, so pretty much all they see is a teenager if they do catch a glimpse of me, they wouldn't expect a child genius to be in the Police Force." _The girl answered firmly. Alexx shook her head and grinned, "No wonder you're a legend." A bit of pink tinted the girl's cheeks even as she rolled her eyes. Alexx backed her car into a car slot in front of the Medical Examiner's Office and pulled it into a park. Reaching into the backseat to get her briefcase, Alexx unbuckled her seatbelt and looked over at the passenger, astonished that the Asian was already gone and waiting expectantly for Alexx. Even after 6½ years, Alexx never quite got used to her friend's eerie speed. Ducking out of the driver's side and striding into the building, Alexx followed the girl.

"Lin Hiu Tong!" The girl spun at her name to find a dark-haired, dark-skinned man coming towards Alexx and herself.

"Morning, Eric," Alexx greeted. Lin nodded in greeting.

"Jeez, Lin, I knew you were shy, but I never knew you could be so cold." Eric feigned a hurt look. Lin scribbled in her notebook that was sitting in the crook of her left arm, _"Your hide is thick enough to withstand a torpedo, Delko. Not to mention your ego is big enough that a few hits would only deflate it back to a slightly normal size and maybe then your head could fit through the doors." _She held her notebook upright for CSI Delko to read. She gave him a chiding look as he shook his head and chuckled, "Ouch, Lin, for a small, shy Asian, you sure are brutal." Lin stood at 5'6 with a slender build; long limbs and a lithe body, black shiny tresses and dark brown irises highlighted by long eyelashes. Alexx doubled over laughing, "Sweetie, Eric's pride will just return to being the size of a hot air balloon by the end of the day, you're going to have to text him every hour to minimize his ego." Lin stifled a laugh at the affronted look on her colleague's face, giving the head examiner a thumbs-up.

"Who started the war without the arsenal," Lin turned her head, giving the blond CSI a hand wave.

"Calleigh, tell these two I'm not a big-headed muscle man." Calleigh raised an eyebrow at this, " Right, Eric's not a big-headed macho cop, he's a pea-brained muscle man."

"_You mean moron."_ Lin corrected. Female laughter rang through the small area around the Examiner's Office. Lin's eyes twinkled in amusement and one end of her mouth quirked up a little. Eric glowered at his co-workers and trudged to his desk, thinking of ways to extract his revenge.

"Well, we'd better go now, Lin, me and Ryan needed your opinion on something for the Johnson's case." Lin nodded, _"I'll see you later."_ Alexx smiled. Calleigh and Lin treaded back to the lab and nearly ran into a brown-haired, brown-eyed man.

"Ryan, don't do that."

"Oh, hey Calleigh, Lin," Ryan greeted.

"_You better not let the boss catch you running, Wolfe, or he'll have you in cuffs for resisting arrest and any damage to the lab." _Ryan let one of his uncharacteristic grins show for an instance.

"I was actually looking for you, since you're usually here early. I was going to ask you to look over this report and get your opinion then tell Calleigh when she got here, but since you're both standing in front of me, could you look over it?"

"_No time like the present."_ Lin printed neatly, right hand out, palm up, gesturing for the file. Ryan handed Lin the file and he and Calleigh followed her into her office. She shed her bag and hung it on her chair, not bothering to look up from the document, she settled into her desk chair and switched her computer on. Still not looking away from the report, she typed in her password to log in to the computer, her screen background was pastel green with no pictures or anything personal. Lin had her mechanical pencil in her hand and tapped it against her desk, brows furrowed in concentration, she looked up at the two CSIs and wrote, _"When you guys got to the crime scene, who was there?"_

"Some neighbors, the media, and a family friend," Ryan answered.

"We checked them out," Calleigh said, "the 911 call came in at 10 in the morning, the family friend called it in."

"_Alexx put the TOD at 1 o'clock in the morning; the family friend said that she called Johnson at 9:30 to talk to him about an appointment yesterday afternoon, but she lives like 5 minutes away, even if she left a bit later there still would have been at least 15 minutes in between. Why is there that huge gap? Wolfe, I recall you telling Caine that there were no fingerprints or any evidence to speak of save for the wineglass and dishes in the sink, neither of you could find any hair strands, footprints, or blood. _

"_From the post-mortem photos at the crime scene and at the morgue, Torrance Johnson was a heavy man, he should have put up quite a fight, but evidently, there are no defensive wounds, which means that the job was done by someone he knew. If memory serves, in the columns I read about Mr. Johnson and having cooperated with him on a kidnapping case, this man loved and treasured life, he wasn't the type to commit suicide even if he knew he had a brain tumor, he'd have gone through with chemotherapy. Also, the wineglass that he supposedly drank to his death from only had one set of his fingerprints on them. _

"_Tell me, to get the glass from his cabinet, pour the 1944 red wine into it, and then add the sleeping pills, wouldn't he have had to touch the glass more than once. I find it hard to believe that he could pop the cork on the wine bottle with one hand."_

"So the murderer is someone who knew the man well enough to know that Johnson had cancer and would likely be dead within 3 months. Lin nodded, _"Pretty much. Did you check the family friend's finances?" _Ryan and Calleigh shook their heads, _"I'm laying my money on the secretary, get a warrant for the financial records and I think it should be self-explanatory."_

"Thanks, Lin, we owe you big time," Wolfe threw over his shoulder as he and Calleigh scurried out to find Detective Tripp. Lin turned back to her computer, sticking a floppy disk into the floppy drive and saved the remainder of the files onto the disk. Taking the floppy out, she labeled it, 'Rape cases' and piled it onto four other floppies. Being OCD, Lin sorted out the cases she'd handled into separate categories out of habit and convenience. Satisfied that the computer was empty of any files, she clicked into the control panel and deleted her username, along with any security measures she put on. Lin leaned back into her chair on a deep breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled.


	3. Case Closed and Goodbyes

Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own absolutely no CSIs, with the exception of Lin, but I do own the story and anything I write. If I have not updated in 2 months, you will know that I have died of major migraines induced by my idiotic, annoying, aggravating cousin. That or I have been sent to a mental institution.

Author's Note: I would like to thank the faithful readers that took the time to review. R&R!

"_Lin leaned back into her chair on a deep breath and closed her eyes as she exhaled."_

"There's going to be a lot of broken hearts when you leave," a voice called from the doorway. Lin opened her eyes, knowing full well that a strawberry blond man with warm blue eyes would be standing in the doorframe, right hand in his pants pocket and his left hand holding his sunglasses.

"Why would that be, Uncle Caine?" Lin asked quietly. Horatio stood there, shocked. He recovered a moment later, "Your friends and family are going to miss you, as well as your admirers." No sooner had he finished his sentence, a floral delivery man was standing outside her office with three bouquets, each one containing a dozen roses in red, white, and yellow, complete with a card, "Uh, are you Ms. Tong," the messenger addressed Lin. Lin blinked tiredly and nodded. Signing the receipt, she retrieved the bouquets from him and dug under the desk for the trashcan. She pushed the flowers aside for the cards and tossed them on the desk while she stood up holding the roses. Horatio didn't have to ask to figure out where Lin was going. She went to the DNA Lab first and gave Boa Vista a hug and the red roses, "Thank you, Lin."

"You're welcome. Thank you for being one of my few friends," Lin whispered, she backed out of the hug and left, leaving Natalia stunned. Lin was not, if anything, a cold person, but she was definitely not known to speak or show affections. Lin finished off her delivery rounds with her favorite female justice and the only other person she had closest to family: Alexx. Returning to her office, she found Horatio resting idly in one of the chairs. His eyes held a degree of disappointment and disapproval.

"You know I have to do this, Uncle Caine." Her barely-there voice held quiet conviction.

"I understand, I just wanted to enlighten you to something: killing him won't bring your family back, nor will it ease yours and others' pain."

"I am well aware of that. It may not ease the pain, but at least it will put my mind at rest. You're not me, you have no idea what goes on inside my head," Lin rasped, her voice laden with silent agony, she would not allow herself to cry.

"I don't want to see you hurt, I promised you on your mother's grave that you would be protected." Horatio argued.

"And protected I am, 6½ years of training, you know what I'm capable of. Detective Taylor would not let anyone hurt me; neither would Danny, Stella, Flack, Hawkes, or Lindsay. I will not rest until the victims are avenged; I'm not just doing it as my personal vendetta. True it may be, but I will not let rage cloud my judgment." Lin countered, not even raising her voice.

"You mean hate?" Lin shook her head, "I don't know how or what hate is. I will never be able to bring myself to hate someone, no matter what they've done to me," tears welled up in her eyes, but she would not allow them to fall, her voice fell to a whisper, "Because of my mother, I will never be able to hate them, severely dislike them, yes, but hate… impossible." Her jaw clenched as she fought the lump in her throat, blinking away the unshed tears.

"It's okay to let your sorrow out, it doesn't make you any weaker."

"I promised my mom, and myself, that I wouldn't cry and I intend to keep that promise. 'Whatever doesn't kill you only makes you stronger,' I believe and agree wholeheartedly. The night I survived that tragedy, it sealed the monster's fate. I have grown stronger, physically and mentally, I will not go easily; my mom fought for my life with hers, there is no way I'm going to let her die in vain." Horatio sighed, "Just remember, Lin, that you're welcome home anytime and sometimes, sharing your pain can lessen your burden. Her stoic expression was back in place and she merely nodded. Horatio left the office and returned to his own. Calleigh slowed her pace to a fast walk when she neared Lin's office.

"Hey, Lin, the judge just issued the warrant, want to come with us? The suspect will break easily and a lot quicker if you're in the interrogation room, plus he's bound to run." Lin let out a dry laugh as she stood up. Calleigh filled Lin in on the situation, "Kerry Smith worked for Johnson since 1993 so she's been working there for 14 years, more or less. She started out as an accountant and worked her way up; it wasn't until 1999 did Johnson promote her to his secretary. We're going to the bank right now for a more detailed financial record." Lin nodded.

"_Are criminals really frightened of me? Alexx and I were talking in the car and out of the blue she says that the threat of me coming back is enough to keep the hounds at bay, well, the smart ones anyway."_ Calleigh smiled wide, "You are so ignorant of some things; you're an idol to the right side of the law and you're a danger to the wrong side. The criminals that you arrest and throw in jail learned their lesson, and in the past few years that you've been here, all of the criminals you catch have really changed their ways when they get out of jail. Few of the informants I keep in contact with tell me that the ex-cons work much harder when they are released compared to before, and when some of their buddies are planning on doing something stupid, all the ex-cons do are shake their head and say, 'You're screwed. As soon as the Ice Angel is put on the case, you are going to pee in your pants.' It's hilarious to see most of the mafia and gang members go pale at the name they've given you. Generally, the stupider ones actually think they can become famous if you don't find them within 24-hours – or if you do, that they can take you down." Lin was blushing but her curiosity lingered, _"Ice Angel? Where'd that come from?"_

"Well, because you're so quiet and so cold towards the suspects and because you are an angel, appearance and character wise," Calleigh drawled softly in her southern accent. Lin bit her lower lip and gave Calleigh a hug; breaking away, she headed towards the silver Taurus. Ryan and Frank were seated in the front and blasted the air conditioning in the hot Miami noon, she and Calleigh climbed into the back and buckled in. Frank stepped on the gas and drove away from the curb; they swerved through the traffic on local because the traffic wasn't as bad as on the highway.

Five minutes later, Frank pulled into the parking lot of the designated bank. Upon entering and identifying themselves, they were escorted into a bland office. The manager was a bald man with a rounding stomach, wearing a boring gray suit. The man shook Calleigh's, Frank's, and Ryan's hands before settling into his chair and handing them Smith's financial report. Lin looked at the papers over their shoulder, the numbers scattered across the page confirmed her hunch and Frank flipped his phone and dialed to ring up a judge. Getting their warrant, they traveled the small distance from the bank to Smith's house. Lin stood in front of the garage, out of sight from the front door. A couple more rings and a the door opened slightly to reveal a bare-chested man in his late 30s, "Hi, what can I do for you?" Frank flashed his badge and asked, "Is Kerry Smith at home?"

"No, she isn't." Lin heard the lie laced into the answer and caught a flash of movement by the bush. She sighed exasperatedly and pulled out a needle, a flick of her wrist sent the needle flying. A second later, a dull thud sounded from behind the bushes. The man at the door tried to slam the door but considering there were 4 cops standing at the door and one of the said cops being an ex-trooper, he barely had time to react before Ryan jammed his foot in between the crack and the force of the swinging door flung the man back ward. The uniform cop and Lin went to drag Kerry Smith out of the underbrush, the needle sticking out from Lin's intended mark. The uniform Mirandized Kerry; then cuffed her. Lin pulled the needle out and dropped it into an evidence bag. As soon as the woman could move, she cussed Lin out and glared at the detective hatefully. Putting the man and woman in the squad car, they drove back to the station.

"You are one scary girl, Lin," Ryan commented, awe in his voice.

"How did you know he was lying?" Calliegh inquired.

"_Don't ask me a question you already know the answer to, you heard it too."_

"Okay, okay so we all heard the lie, but dang girl, your aim is frightening." Lin turned red again and started for the car. She ducked into the car, Calleigh following in suit. Frank and Ryan climbed into the front and kicked the ignition into a rumble.

They got back to the station in time to see the uniforms dragging Kerry Smith and the man into separate interrogation rooms.

"Hey, Lin, you want to take the lady?" Frank asked. Lin shrugged, _"Sure, why not?"_

"I get to come with you then," Calleigh called, "_What? _ I've never seen you in action before." Lin allowed a tiny smile at that and led the way to the interrogation room. Ryan pouted, "No fair, I want to see Lin make Smith squirm. I only watched her do it once, I think the man will probably break easily, I'll just come watch after I finish." Ryan's declaration and unusual behavior resulted in Calleigh's laughs. He nearly ran to the interrogation room where Frank and the man were. Inside, the man denied any involvement vehemently, "She made me, I swear. I didn't know she was being wanted for murder."

"Look, we can sit here all day Mr.…"

"Ward. John Ward."

"Okay, Mr. Ward, we have all day, so you can tell us the truth or we can just bring Lin in. I trust you still remember her impeccable skill with needles," Ryan leaned back in his chair, watching Ward pale and stammer, "I… I want a lawyer." Ryan gave him an indifferent look, "That can be arranged, but I have no doubt that your lawyer will be trembling when he sees Detective Tong." Ryan shoved his chair back and left the room. Frank waited a beat, "Hope you know that the most potent cop in Florida is working your partner over while we talk, she's going to be in jail and so will your sorry ass." Another uniform guided his to the holding cell and left him there to think that he actually had a chance to get out.

"You know, for a woman of your financial status, a dead boss probably isn't the best move," Calleigh regarded the woman with feigned confusion. Lin sat there and kept her eyes on the woman. Her usual warm dark brown was now steely ice; Kerry shifted uncomfortably under Lin's frosty gaze. To say that Calleigh found the scene unfolding funny would be stating it politely, what Calleigh really wanted to do was burst out laughing, but that would've been rude.

"I told you, I have nothing to say," Smith bit out angrily.

"_Could've fooled me. Why were you hiding in the bushes, then? That _is_ your house is it not? We made our identities clear, and yet you still ran. Your state of dress tells me that you were in bed before we got there and ran to hide when you heard us knocking. I have to give you credit though; you managed to get out of the back door and into bushes without my fellow CSIs being any wiser. If I'm not mistaken, you seemed to have gotten a sort of premonition, if you will, that the police would be knocking on your door, so was it just a feeling or was there a leak?"_ Lin was out of her chair and began circling Kerry as a lion would its prey.

"Who was that charming gentleman with you today?" Calleigh prodded.

"John Ward," came the reply, but it wasn't from Smith; Ryan was the one that answered. Lin paused, then strode over to the door, _"Ryan, you two keep questioning, I need to go check with the boss on something." _Ryan sat himself in the chair and Lin left silently. She skidded around the corner into Horatio's office. The lieutenant looked up, startled. She quickly scribbled, _"John Ward, isn't he the police commissioner's nephew?"_ He nodded, puzzled as to why this topic was coming up. She slapped her forehead in frustration and her face set determinedly, she stormed out of Horatio's office and into the police commissioner's.

She barged in without knocking and slammed her notebook hard on his desk. The commissioner jumped and hastily read what she wrote, _"Your nephew is in town and in a great deal of trouble, don't even _think _about giving him a get-out-of-jail-free card, because if you do, so help me I will… don't even get me started. If you even _try_ to get your sorry nephew out of his cell, I will personally make it my ambition to make your life and his as miserable as possible. Tell him he's not wheedling his way out of it this time because you won't help him and I don't bloody care if his snobby, rich parents come knocking on your door because their spoiled brat of a son was aiding and abetting a wanted criminal! They'll have _me _to deal with if they think hiring an expensive lawyer will keep me from putting him in his place!"_ Lin stood by his door, arms crossed, right foot tapping impatiently. The commissioner scrambled out of his office with as much dignity as he could muster.

To see the hard and strict commissioner cowering from a teenager would have been a real sight, but people were observant enough to see that Lin was in a foul mood and nobody dared to do so much as breathe. Ward brightened upon his uncle's approach. His face fell when he heard the next words out of his uncle's mouth, "I can't help you this time, I guess I shouldn't have helped you before because it seems I've given you the impression that you won't have to learn the consequences of your actions because I'm a police commissioner and you have rich parents." The police commissioner left and Lin returned to the interrogation room. She walked in on Ryan tapping his finger out of annoyance and Calleigh rubbing her face to calm herself.

"_I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you. My little detour went as well as can be and I can safely say that you or your boyfriend _won't_ be getting out anytime soon. Hey, maybe you two can kiss goodbye in the holding cell, cause you are _not_ going to be getting bail."_ Calleigh sat up a bit straighter when Kerry started sobbing. Lin took pity and wrote, _"If you plead guilty and tell us what happened, we could help you bargain down the serving time. I truly understand that you did this out of love, but his type doesn't know what love means. He used up all your money didn't he? And when Mr. Johnson tried to stop you from digging yourself into a deeper hole, you ignored him. You asked for a loan and he told you that he wouldn't let you throw your reputation away for someone who didn't deserve it right? He was right, and I know you didn't kill him, the least you can do is tell us the truth, you owe it to Torrance."_

Kerry explained the process in detail between hiccups. She'd gone to his house to tell Torrance that she was sorry and to berate him for not telling her about his cancer, Johnson had answered the door, and, as usual, accepted her apology and tried to make light of his illness. Ward snuck in through the back and had swabbed the inside of Johnson's wineglass with arsenic, switching the wineglasses; hence the wineglass in the sink. Kerry didn't know until Ward came back hours later, whistling.

"_You won't be charged as an accessory to murder. If you testify, we can lower your sentence, but the charge for the obstruction of justice is going to be on your record. You don't need to answer now, but let me ask you this: Ward came back late in the night, did you ask him where he went? Maybe his answer will help you make your decision. Our offer still stands, give me a shout when you make up your mind. By the way, since you're only being charged for the obstruction of justice, you get bail, do have anyone you need to call?" _Kerry's head lifted up hopefully, "My niece. She's in Miami for the week." Kerry gave Calleigh the number and sniffled, "Thank you, I don't know how to repay you."

"_You can repay us by being on your best behavior when you get out and make sure we never have to give you so much as a speeding ticket."_ That charmed a reluctant laugh out of Kerry. Ryan dogged Lin out of the room, Calleigh on their heels, both demanded, "What did you say to H? When Ward was being placed in the holding cell he looked so confident that he wouldn't go to jail."

"_I doubt that you will get an answer from Horatio even if you asked him. If you two really want to know, go ask the police commissioner."_ That being said, Lin walked off to find Alexx. Calleigh and Ryan hurried to the commissioner's office.

They breezed in with no warning and before they could utter a single word the commissioner cut in, "John Ward is my nephew, when you guys arrested him he looked so pompous because he figured you guys couldn't put him on trial or hold him here for any longer than 48 hours. Lin must have recognized his name, but either way she storms into my office like an avenging angel and basically orders me to set my nephew straight or she'd make my life miserable. I know better than to argue her; she was extremely ticked, I could choose to take her in duel, but the chances of me winning are slim to none, and surprisingly, I'm not ashamed." Both CSIs bit back their grins; the high and mighty man being beaten by a girl skinny enough for him to snap like a twig was too much. The commissioner shooed them out of his office.

"Where are we taking Lin for lunch today, it is her last day in Miami?" Calleigh finished sadly. Ryan patted Calleigh on the shoulder, "Hey, we could take her to the Café Prima Pasta, or the Tropical Chinese." Calleigh thought about it, "Why don't take her out the Café Prima Pasta for some Italian food, nothing beats Lin's cooking, especially her Chinese."

"All right, so how about you go reserve a spot and I'll gather the gang," Ryan suggested, Calleigh nodded, taking a deep breath. They went their separate ways, Calleigh back to her office and Ryan, scouting for the other CSIs.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" the feminine voice sounded from the phone receiver.

"Hi, I'd like to make a reservation for 7 people this afternoon at," she glanced at the her watch, " 3 o'clock."

"Last name, please."

"Caine."

"You're all set."

"Thank you."

"No problem." Calleigh put the phone back onto its cradle and shoved out of her spinning chair. The CSI dayshift regrouped in the parking lot, splitting into two cars for safety purposes. Horatio, Calleigh, Frank, Eric, and Ryan piled into Horatio's car while Alexx and Lin took Alexx's car. Alexx turned on the radio to a classical station and drove the 15 minutes in soothing silence. Alexx looped around the parking lot and found a parking space right by the main entrance.

"_We beat H here,"_ Lin gloated gleefully, mirth shining in her eyes. A small giggle escaped Lin when she saw Delko and the rest of the team trekking the distance of the parking lot in the Miami heat into the safety of the cool restaurant. That obnoxious little noise was enough to render Alexx speechless and warm her heart once the fact registered in her mind. The dayshift team ate their lunch in light banters and occasional outbursts from Eric. All too soon it was time for Lin and Alexx to go home, _"I'll miss you guys, I truly will, but I'll try to use the web cam Calleigh got me. Thank you for taking care of me for so long, I will be back, and then, all the criminals of Florida beware. See ya."_

Calleigh reached out to grasp Lin's hand, "You'd best come back, I don't know if I can keep up with Eric's ego or the crimes here." The CSI team gathered in a group hug and there wasn't a single pair of dry eyes. Alexx and climbed back into her car and returned to Alexx's house so that Lin could grab her duffle bag and violin. Lin padded up the stairs to carry the little luggage that she had. They weaved through the streets to the airport and at the check-in counter, Alexx knew it was time to say goodbye.

"Sweetie, I hope you know I loved you like my own niece and I always will." Lin's throat constricted and tears blurred her eyesight, "I know, I love you too. Thank you." Two simple sentences. Barely a whisper, blown away almost immediately by the bustling crowd in the noisy airport, but it meant the world to Alexx, making a permanent imprint in her heart mind and soul. A single tear slid down her cheek as she embraced Lin, holding the teenager as if she never wanted to let go – which she didn't. Lin kissed Alexx on the cheek, and then went in search of the gate for the flight to New York.

Both failed to notice the strawberry-blond man putting his sunglasses back on and driving off, a look of remembrance in his baby blue eyes.


	4. Memories and Pain

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI, but I do own homicidal shoes; one-inch square-heeled boots. And a homicidal friend, come to that. My shoes and friend added into the equation will most likely come out with real CSIs coming to my house. 'Tis depressing that I shan't be able to meet them.

Author's note: At first when I saw that there were no reviews, I was depressed and… I was actually going to delete the story today if there weren't any reviews. I know that there were over a hundred hits, but a small part of me wonders if people just clicked on it and never read it. Please don't make me have to question myself, any reviews will do. I'd particularly appreciate constructive reviews that either praise or criticize.

_"Both failed to notice the strawberry-blond man putting his sunglasses back on and driving off, a look of remembrance in his baby blue eyes."_

The man drove off with a heavy heart, the cheerful weather in sharp contrast to his mood. He parked outside the precinct as his clear blue eyes clouded over from the onslaught of memories. Horatio tilted his head back and shoved his car door open for air. A slight breeze blew in the setting dusk, the cool air bringing Horatio's memories down to one in particular. He reclined in his driver's seat and rubbed between his closed eyes, the black void bringing him back to that one fateful night.

Flashback

_Thunder roared menacingly even while the lightning lit the sky like clashing swords. A 911 call had been put in at 3 by concerned neighbors. The electricity had been restored a while ago, but their neighbors' house lights didn't come back on. They knew the family was home and tried to call, but the phone line went dead. The Harts had gone over to see if there was anything wrong, but instead, they found the door cracked open a hair and absolutely no sound at all in the house, boot indents were evident along the bottom half of the once-pristine white door. Karena Hart had called the police and dispatch arrived in 10 minutes. They came to the reported address with an anxious Robert Hart trying to calm his panicking wife._

_Careful not to disturb any possible prints on the door or any evidence behind the door, the dispatch uniforms slowly pushed the door open, guns drawn and flashlights out, the men stepped into the threshold, onto the wooden section of the parlor. They shined their lights in an arc horizontally. They didn't want to step in any further for fear of damaging anything, until something black caught their attention. A puddle of the black substance caught the lightning's light on its slick surface. The rookie got out immediately to the squad car and radioed the station for a CSI._

_Officer Montez maneuvered around to the stairs and his light landed on a rough hand lying on the floor by the stairs. Cautiously jogging to the disembodied hand, he saw an Asian man, face pasty looking and eyes lifeless. Two fingers to the pulse-point in the man's neck confirmed he was dead, Officer Montez didn't even check for other survivors, if the body warmth was low enough that the skin would be cool, the guy and anybody injured would have been dead at least 4 hours ago. He grimly hopped outside to avoid any more contamination._

_When Horatio, Ryan, Calleigh, and Alexx descended from their vehicles, Officer Hanling gave them the basics, "One body for sure and an unknown number of residents, Officer Montez didn't want to mess anything up, so we figured we'd call you so you guys can do your processing." Calleigh nodded and Alexx had an unfamiliar look of rage on her thin face. The CSIs bagged their shoes in bags tied around their ankles and lightly entered the dark house._

_Alexx's brisk pace brought her to the first man's body, the white chalk outlining his body position, Alexx grimaced sadly and set her case down on next to the corpse. Horatio and the two other CSIs stepped over the body and proceeded upstairs, the bags around their feet crumpling with every step; as they reached the 2nd floor the first door was open and they were met with the sight of a small figure lying in a pool of blood. Sick to their stomachs, Calleigh and Ryan got to work on the room, snapping pictures, picking up hairs, dusting for prints and swabbing the blood. Horatio went to the room across and found it empty._

_The next room he visited had its door closed; he reached out with his gloved hand and was about to turn the knob when it began to turn slowly on its own. Horatio stepped back, hand already moving to his gun holster. The door opened and a young girl appeared in the doorway. Dressed in pajamas, her face was streaked with light mascara and tears. The top of her sleep clothes stained with blood in a peculiar pattern. Her hair was in disarray and her eyes filled with pain and emptiness._

_Tears running steadily down her cheeks like a raging river, she suddenly seemed to realize that Horatio was standing there. Her hands were stained in red and spots of blood sank into her pants. Her voice wispy thin and weak, she rasped, "Please… help me," before she collapsed into Horatio's arms, sobbing uncontrollably and no longer conscious. It was then that Horatio saw the mutilated body of an Asian woman lying in the middle of the neat, but bloody room. Blood spatter marked the walls and dribbled into corners. Alexx appeared at the top of the stairs and gasped when she saw the girl. Alexx rushed over, dropping her case hurriedly in the process. She knelt beside Horatio, a pained look replacing the previous anger, "Alexx, bring the paramedics here; I don't think she's hurt, but I think she may have witnessed the crime."_

_"My goodness, it was a miracle that she managed to wait until we got here before breaking." Alexx sighed and a choked sob escaped her, "Hopefully she'll be sane enough by the time the shock has worn off and the fact that she's an orphan sinks in," Ryan said from behind Alexx when he spotted the girl. Calleigh came up beside Ryan and her eyes narrowed in concern. Caine carefully picked her up and held her frail body as if she were made of glass and descended the stairs._

_The paramedics hooked her up to an IV line just in case and drove away, sirens whirring. Horatio spun back into the house from his standpoint by the open door and dredged himself up the stairs. He surveyed what was apparently the girl's room before they were attacked. Alexx crouched by the woman's body, noting the defensive wounds on her bare arms and the blood seeping through cuts in her pant legs. A brutal slash to the neck had ended her, but only the autopsy could tell Alexx if death was instantaneous or prolonged._

_Horatio noticed that the closet door hung open as if someone had been in too much of a rush to open the door carefully. The pool surrounded the woman, yet two indents next to her upper body indicated someone had been kneeling there not too long ago. He concluded the imprints were from the girl's knees as no other theory would make any sense; the murder happened at least 5 hours ago and if that were the case then the indents would have been gone long ago. Ryan came in, camera clicking away at the tiny manmade cauldrons, then at the closet door and cracked wall behind the doorknob. He took several shots at the blood patterns on the wall and bed covers. He dusted yet another boot print and finished processing the scene._

_They completed their work 3 hours later and the sun was already out and shining. The bodies had been bagged and transported to the morgue hours before after Alexx had done the initial examining. Alexx had left with the bodies while Horatio had accompanied one of the uniforms to do some investigating. The CSIs got back into the car, holding the evidence and their cases on their laps for the ride to the station._

_Horatio and Alexx had departed for the hospital as soon as the reports and evidence were dropped off at the Lab. The car ride was a silent one, there was enough gloom surrounding the two to qualify for suffocation. The hospital entrance smelt strongly of disinfectants, rubbing alcohol, sanitizing spray, and soap, the Irish brand soap. The nurse at the reception desk chomped her bubble gum and thumbed through a magazine, ignoring all the other patients in the ER room. Alexx and Horatio approached the woman; she didn't even acknowledge their presence despite the fact that Alexx had knocked on the countertop surface to get her attention._

_Alexx clenched her teeth, something that made Horatio stare because the examiner usually never had the need for her patience to be tapped out, Alexx forced a humorless smile and rose her voice a level, "Excuse me, could you tell us which room the homicide witness is in?" Either the nurse was deaf or she was plain arrogant. Alexx shut her eyes and took ten deep breaths before resorting to the one method she used to loath, "Nurse Warren will be very displeased when you get a complaint sent by Dr. Woods." That got her attention, her jerked up and scowled in displeasure, "Who are you, I don't recall Alexx Woods having any assistants?" Alexx gave the nurse a falsely sweet smirk and said, "I am Alexx Woods. Do I have to ask again or are you going to tell us the room number?" The nurse nodded hurriedly and frantically turned to the right page, "She's in room 96, Dr. Woods."_

_"Thank you, now was that so hard?" Alexx rolled her eyes, walking towards the elevator. Horatio wisely chose to keep quiet until they came to a stop in front of the metal door. Horatio peeked through the window and saw a doctor and a few nurses bending over her to draw blood and check her blood pressure and such. Her expression remained blank and her eyes calm. The doctor and nurses opened the door slightly to get out before closing it quietly, "How is she, doctor?"_

_"We've checked her vitals and she's in perfect health. She has a very strong will and it appears she has a higher coping capacity than the average person. We gave her an IQ test to see if the shock had somehow triggered any damage to her intelligence, if her IQ was the same as it is now, you've got a child protégée on your hands. She… evidently analyzed the situation during her ride in the ambulance and decided that grieving over something she couldn't change wouldn't do anything._

_"She may be in perfect health, but this kind of trauma does affect even the strongest; the paramedics told me that she refused to say anything after speaking to you. I have tried to the best of my abilities to… get her to open up, but I'm afraid she won't accept my help. Fruitless efforts, basically. One of the older nurses seems to have taken a liking to her and though she seems to be emotionally… cut off, for lack of better term, it appears she's sort of connected to this nurse and used the piece of paper and the pencil for the first time in the 4 to 5 hours she's been here. That's a very positive sign._

_"She asked for a notebook and the nurse went out on her lunch break to get one for her, it has become her only means of communication - or our communication more likely. She… is a very independent girl and she prides herself on that, though she doesn't seem have a lot self-esteem. Whether it's another aftereffect or the way she's always been I don't know, you'd probably have to talk to her friends or teachers." Hand pausing on the handle, Horatio thanked him. Once inside, Alexx chose the seat on the right. Horatio took a breath, "Umm… I…"_

_'My family?'_

_"I asked the doctor and he said that you could leave the hospital as soon as he signs the release."_

_'Don't _coddle_ me! Your evasion of my question already gave me the answer. I'm the only survivor aren't I?' Alexx nodded gravely, "Sweetie, we need to know what happened. I'm sorry to ask you this so soon, but you need to tell us." The girl's eyes remained empty, 'I already wrote my statement before you came, it's on the cabinet. Would you mind contacting the principal at Coral Reef Senior High School?' Horatio nodded, 'Thank you.' She sat straight-backed against the headboard until Alexx and Horatio left, then she shuffled down under the covers, her back to the door. Horatio looked away from the window, dialing the school number. He set up an appointment with the principal and drove off to the school._

_The principal was there to greet him at the school entrance, "Hello, you are Principal Garrett, I presume?" The middle-aged man nodded, "I came to talk to you about one of your students, I do believe that you watched the news story that the media has kindly broadcasted all over Florida."_

_"Yes, such a tragedy. How is she now?"_

_"She's being strangely calm and asked me to inform you that she accepts your offer. I don't understand what she was saying, but I see that you do."_

_"Yes, she's a very bright student, quiet, but very diligent. Many colleges had offered her scholarships and allowances since the beginning of her school career, when she transferred here the local colleges and out-of-state schools pestered me continuously, I suggested that maybe she could transfer to Harvard since they sent her a request. I called her into my office after school one day and her mother waited outside, I recommended that she go to college as high school was nothing of a challenge and it would probably bore her, she shot me down immediately before returning to her mother. I have only that much information because I check in with her academics, but I'm sure her teachers would be able to provide you with more information."_

_"Thank you, could you copy her schedule, I need it to find the classes?"_

_"Of course, my mistake, I've been so busy this morning." He hurried into his office and came back a few minutes later, a full schedule gripped in his hand. Horatio followed the schedule to room 183, her 1st period class was almost over and there were 7 minute passing periods in between each class, giving him sufficient time to ask a few quick questions. The bell rang just as kids spilt out of classrooms and the high school traffic jam became worse than car traffic jams on the highway. An older woman stepped out, "Lieutenant Caine, Mr. Garrett called me to notify your arrival. I'm Carla Brown, I teach Chemistry H to seniors. It's so sad, why her? She may only be a freshman but she's intelligent beyond her age and far more observant than her peers and even you CSI folk; very shy, very quiet, nice, but very lonely too. She never interacts with any of her classmates and rarely speaks to anyone."_

_"Did she have any enemies, people that were jealous, or picked on her?"_

_"No, she was the girl that nobody really noticed was in the classroom until we called roll, she always slipped in so quietly. She never found the need to call attention to herself or small trivial matters. I… don't quite know if she had any enemies, she's so sweet, anybody who hated her before after being in her presence for a little while would melt, I don't see how anybody could even dislike her."_

_"Thank you, Ms. Brown, it was very helpful and I think you've saved me the trouble of having to go to all her classes." The bell rung and Ms. Brown departed to her other classroom as Horatio left the school. Parting for the station he dialed for Alexx, considering she stayed at the hospital with the girl when he left. Three rings, "Horatio, what did you find out?"_

_"How is she doing?"_

_"She's still pretending to sleep, I'm outside the room but I think she knows exactly what I'm saying and who I'm talking to. But what did her teachers say?"_

_"She was a loner at school, never went out with her peers, didn't make any friends. All the classes she took were AP classes and they did not present a challenge to her, she received an A+ in all her subjects. The offer that she was talking about was a deal that the principal had suggested. She could have gone to college at an even earlier age; she chose not to. She wants to take up the offer now, so I became the messenger. I'm almost at the hospital, I'll talk to you when I get there."_

_"Okay, I'll keep an eye on her." Horatio dialed Calleigh's number after Alexx hung up, "Calleigh, have the DNA results come back from the lab yet?"_

_"The hospital sent the girl's blood sample over already and we were able to confirm the DNA samples from the dad, mom, and brother; the girl's and boy's DNA composition matches the mom and the dad."_

_"So the two are biological; was there any of the girl's blood at the crime scene?"_

_"No, we only found the vics' blood, according to the hospital she didn't have any physical injuries, no sign of a fight. We found her fingerprints inside the closet, it was heavy and precise; we think she must have hid inside until the killer left. We talked to the neighbors and, apparently, the man doesn't live there, so we couldn't find any information on him. The mother worked at PGW Industries, they deal with medical stuff and cures. They said that the girl was slightly odd, loving and likeable enough, but just a little different. The little boy was a normal kid in ECE, usual kid squabbles, nothing unusual."_

_"The girl won't say anything, she's been using a notebook for communication. I'll brief you guys when I get back, for now, I guess I can try to ask her about stuff that she left out in her statement. Call me if something new comes up." He parked in front of the hospital entrance and stuck his phone in his back pocket. Taking the elevator back up to the 1st floor, he paused by the doctor's office to see if he could talk to her about her family yet; the doctor okayed it. Horatio walked into her room and sat down in his abandoned seat. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, "I looked over your statement, but I still need to ask you some questions." She nodded. Alexx covered her small hand, rubbing her thumb in soothing circles._

_"Have you seen the murderer before?"_

_'You mean besides when I watched him slaughter my mother like some animal, then no,' she replied sarcastically, 'I'm sorry, that was rude and uncalled for.'_

_"I understand, so you've never seen him before. All right then, your father, did he have any bad habits that offended people?"_

_'He gambled, but he never resorted to borrowing from loan sharks, his gambling was what caused the divorce in the first place, even my father learns from his mistakes. He never made any enemies, he had people that he didn't like, but for the most part he went to work, went gambling, and then went home.'_

_"This question does not pertain to the…"_

_'Murder. Don't feel the need to protect me. The more you tiptoe around the subject, the more it'll annoy me. I know what you're going to ask me and I can answer that I absolutely refuse to go into the system. I'll just be an emancipated minor. Going to Harvard will provide me with a steady income and my mother built me a trust fund since I was a baby. Considering my brother is dead now, the accounts will simply join. My mother's, father's and brother's, and mine. My mother wanted me to go into the medical field; the trust fund was to accommodate the school expense. I won't disappoint her, but I'll get my PhD in medical sciences at night school. I already have my undergraduate degree in Criminal Psychology; Harvard is just providing me one month's official closing education with my Masters degree in Forensic Sciences. Their giving me a scholarship so I don't even have to dip into my trust fund, or any of the money acquired.'_

_"Where will you be staying?"_

_'I'm leaving for Harvard as soon as I'm released from the hospital, when I get back I'll rent an apartment.'_

_"I'm not sure if you are familiar with the regulations, but…"_

_'I already talked to the DA; she said I should be fine. I understand that since I am the only survivor I have also become the prime suspect. The DA said that she could help me in that area so that I could call through the school phone to report in. The school will also be confiscating my passport and purchasing my round trip plane ticket and the local law enforcement will be contacted if I don't arrive on time and there are no technical complications.'_

_Horatio stared; Alexx gaped. She took everything so calmly. Little did they know, if they had looked a bit closer, they would have seen the hint of hurt that her mask couldn't hide since she was hiding so much already. She blinked wearily, suddenly looking every bit the emotionally drained victim that she was. An elderly nurse came in and tucked her in, fussing over her as a grandmother would, and the girl let her._

_"That must be the nurse that the doctor mentioned earlier," Alexx commented inanely. Satisfied that the girl was warm and asleep, the nurse edged out of the room._

_"Poor girl, it's the first time in hours since I've seen any sort of emotion from her, tiredness is a good thing I suppose. She needs her rest."_

_"Excuse us, Nurse…" Horatio trailed off, not knowing the nurse's name._

_"Daidouji. Susan Daidouji. The poor girl hasn't slept or eaten since arriving this morning."_

_"Has she said anything to you the entire time she was here?"_

_"No, she wrote a few cheerful notes, but she didn't crack a smile or laugh. I've seen many post-traumatic patients in my years here, but she's a first. She recovered from the shock and didn't burst into hysterical tears, didn't start screaming, no rocking back and forth, staring blankly at the wall, nothing. She was frighteningly quiet, still is. I apologize, I'm forgetting my manners, who are you?"_

_"I am Horatio Caine, this is Dr. Alexx Woods; we both work for the Miami Dade Police Department. I am a CSI and Dr. Woods is our head examiner. Could I talk to you for a while?"_

_"About the girl? Certainly. What would you like to know?"_

_"She hasn't made a single sound then, to the best of your knowledge?"_

_"No, she may have come close, once, to snorting at the foolish nurse at the reception desk when the nurse was on duty and was asked to keep an eye on her. The vain one tried to take the child's temperature every few minutes and unsuccessfully to insert an IV line into the girl's veins."_

_"Ah, I see. Other than that she has shown no signs of feeling?" Nurse Daidouji shook her head sadly, "Not a peep, she stares at the wall, but not blankly, it's as though she is thinking back on things. I don't know how to explain it, but she seems so lonely and every time I look into her eyes, it's profound sadness and flashing memories I find," She explained, her voice choking slightly. "It's as though she's somehow kept herself close to this reality yet distanced herself from this world, it probably doesn't make a lot of sense, but that's the truth."_

_"At the very least she can still make sarcastic comments. If she still tried to bring a smile to your face and soothe your worries with amusing conversations, she can still recover and heal." Horatio advised and the nurse agreed. Alexx observed the girl from the door window, "Horatio, do you think she would accept my offer to stay in my house when she gets back from school, until she finds her own apartment?" Horatio shrugged, "She may or may not. You heard the doctor, she prides herself on her independence, she may have planned ahead when she decided to take the scholarship, but it wouldn't hurt to ask." Alexx gazed forlornly at the lost little girl, wishing that she could somehow make the hurt go away. Horatio laid a hand on Alexx's shoulder, leading her to all the way to his car._

End Flashback


	5. Helping Hands

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I offered to buy all the CSIs from CBS with my savings, which is only about a penny considering I am forced to baby-sit for free, otherwise, I 'd be a millionaire by now, so that I wouldn't have to go through the tedious process of having to write the disclaimers. They pretty much flat-out rejected me! I've sent numerous e-mails to them over the course of the week, about 500 something, I don't remember, but they didn't reply to a single one! Instead, they sent me a restraining order, how rude!

Author's Note: I haven't really gotten many reviews and that's really depressing, I've found a lot of hits on my story, but sadly I wonder if you guys actually bother to read the chapter, I was really hoping for more than 2 reviews. Please read and review so I don't end up sending this fanfic to the recycle bin, I truly don't want to.

"Horatio laid a hand on Alexx's shoulder, leading her to all the way to his car."

"End Flashback"

Lin found her gate and sat down in a waiting chair closest to the gate with her cup of hot chocolate that Alexx insisted she get since Lin didn't really want to buy any food. A middle-aged man picked the seat next to her, not looking up from her book, she continued to read, not looking the least perturbed even though the man's mere presence sent chills down her back. She sipped her hot chocolate slowly so that she wouldn't burn her tongue or scorch her throat.

Inconspicuously, her eyes scanned the area. Nothing would seem to be out of the ordinary to an untrained eye, Lin knew better; after all, she is a CSI, and the most potent cop in Florida. A mother and her two children rested in one corner, looking blissfully happy. Lin guessed that they were waiting for the father to come back with some snacks. Another couple sat closely together, giggling and whispering. A lone businessman kept looking at his watch every few minutes, shifting his legs impatiently, his black leather briefcase standing in the chair next to him. A few men were scattered across the lounge. These were the ones that Lin deemed she would be watching through the plane trip.

The one on her far left had blond hair plastered to the side of his head with an excessive amount of gel. One to her right had dusty brown hair, blue eyes, and a weak right hand. Both were scrawny and nervous. The man leaning against the wall diagonal to her sight was well-built. Brown hair, brown eyes and a magazine in hand, he looked every inch an average citizen, a person who wouldn't be remembered after a first glance, blending into his surroundings. Lin wasn't fooled, he appeared calm enough, but a manic glint in his eye betrayed all thoughts of sanity. Sure, he was in control, but he was about to lose it. She could tell he had had some sort of training, that he was the one who had separated the three of them. She pulled out her silver chopsticks to put her hair up.

Ten minutes later with her hair wrapped in a bun around the chopsticks, she picked up her book and continued where she left off. She sipped at her drink and checked briefly to make sure her duffel bag and violin were still next to her. She had long since hid her notebook in her backpack along with her badge, identification papers, passport, and plane ticket. Her laptop rested in there as well. The cell-phone she got from her mother nestled safely in a box with its charger in her duffel bag. She mulled over the facts of the leader of the group while she'd been twisting her hair back, 'I know he's had some training in the law enforcement and his body says that he's the best of the best. Only a few squads have the type of training to whip the donut-eating cops into shape: the FBI Anti-Terrorist squad and the SWAT team. I've worked with the SWAT team a few times and I don't recognize him, I don't always see their faces, but I don't remember his figure being among them, that means he belongs to the FBI, he's crazed, he probably got kicked out, I think I heard one of the FBI agents mentioning something about bribes. Now I'm definitely keeping an eye on him.'

Lin looked at her watch, 8:15, good, that meant the plane would be arriving in approximately 15 minutes. The two scrawny guys shifted from foot to foot, wringing their hands together. Furtive looks at the digital clock served to increase their anxiety. Lin noted that cold sweat had begun to break out across their heads; she rolled her eyes inwardly. The ex-FBI agent was still flipping through the magazine, which he clearly wasn't reading. His eyes skirted around the waiting lobby, not lingering for more than a second on each face. Despite his calm demeanor, his actions betrayed him and Lin could tell he was getting increasingly desperate by each passing minute. His fingers twitched along the edges of the magazine. His legs moved restlessly 'Oh dear, the more desperate he is the more reckless he'll be. I really hope he doesn't try anything. At least wait until the plane's close to New York; I don't want to have to baby-sit a tied up fly.'

The person next to her inched lower in his chair, waiting for the boarding call. The plane landed and passengers filed out, lugging their enormous carry-ons and dragging their children. A woman in her early thirties came out, carrying a sleeping two-year-old in one arm, dragging a small rolling suitcase behind her and trying to keep an eye on her son. Between juggling her purse and sleeping child, her son suddenly let out a distressed wail as he dropped the teddy bear he'd been clutching. The mother jumped and her head whipped around, desperately searching for her son. She wasn't the only one startled; Lin saw the three men flinch and look around jerkily. She spotted the little boy struggling to get to his teddy bear that was lying a couple feet away from the information desk.

People bustled past, pushing their way past the boy and the mother. Lin braced her arms against the armrests, about to get up until she saw a flight attendant heading towards the boarding bridge, 'Must be the next flight shift,' Lin thought. She hadn't moved from her position, waiting to see what would happen next. She expected the attendant to pick up the plush toy and bring the little boy back to his mother; instead, the attendant stepped on the toy and looked annoyed, not bothering to hide his contempt for the child, he shoved his way past the crowd, almost bowling the little boy over, that is, before Lin caught him.

She rose out of her chair as soon as she realized the bastard was not going to help in any way; she reached the woman and led her out of the crowd before pointing to her seat and stuff. The woman understood and looked ready to object, Lin shook her head firmly nudged them over, weaving through the mass and getting to the child. Lin caught the little boy and lifted him into her arms; she slipped through the sea of bodies and bent down to pick up the bear. She carefully dusted the bear off before placing it securely back into the 5-year-old's grip. She placed a hand on his back, holding him closer to her, then took off towards his mother and sister. She set him down on the ground; he scrambled to his mother and threw his arms around her legs. An end of her lips quirked up into a tiny smile; reminiscing, in a way, about how her brother would have turned out.

The mother thanked her shakily, "Thank you, oh thank you! I can't thank you enough." Lin had gotten out a pen and a napkin, she wrote, "It's all right, just make sure you hang on to your son, or you'll get lost. By the way, why are you wearing sunglasses in an airport at 8:30 in the evening, you don't seem like a vampire?" Lin feigned ignorance, at the same time knowing full well the woman was trying to hide a black eye or two. The woman wore a long-sleeved black short and sweatpants, in the middle of autumn, in Miami. Lin fired up, wanting to crush the bastard who had given the defenseless woman the bruises and broken her spirit and a few bones. The children seemed terrified of every person that glanced their way. A wry grin lit the woman's face, "I'm sure that if you saw what I really look like, it'd change your mind real quick."

"Flight 107, passengers begin boarding now, departure will be at 9:00, thank you."

"Call this number and tell them Lin gave it to you. Goodbye." Lin folded the napkin and closed the woman's hand around it. Reaching down for her luggage, she ruffled the little boy's hair affectionately, and lovingly caressed the toddler's cheek. The middle-aged man stood in line in front of her now, she took this chance to study his profile, as well as why she felt so disconcerted around him. His body was muscular, rounding belly, graying blondish hair.

Her heart stopped, the startling blue eyes were definitely his. She shook her head, mentally chiding herself, 'Not everyone with blue eyes is a monster!' Still, she decided to keep an eye on him, he smiled warmly. Lin forced herself to politely nod back. She waved goodbye to the little family, the ticket manager returned her ticket stub and Lin traveled through the humid ramp. The hostess pointed Lin to her seat and went off to help other passengers. Lin carefully hefted her violin into the baggage compartment first; then clipped it between the back of the compartment and her duffle bag. Her luggage fit snugly between two other bags, ensuring that her possessions wouldn't end up sliding to the other end of the plane. She kept her backpack with her, since her book bag was currently with her clothes in her duffel.

Letting her hair loose, she tucked the silver chopsticks into the open side pocket of her light pink backpack. Her backpack lied underneath her seat, well within her sight and reach. Her neighbor turned out to be none other than the blue-eyed man. She buckled her seatbelt as the flight attendants went around to check everyone's clip. Lin felt and heard the plane's movement, the engine growing quiet as the plane lifted off. She idly toyed with the necklace she was wearing; a jade monkey a bit larger than her thumbnail zipped along a thin, gold chain. Her mother had given it to her when her aunt returned from Hong Kong. Her jewelry resided in a small box inside her violin case, safe from prying eyes. She lay back in her chair, legs crossed demurely at the ankles, hands folded across her stomach. Lin leaned her head back and closed her eyes for a catnap; this was going to be a long journey.

Through the huge windowpanes, the dull roar of an engine could be heard overhead, the woman gazed after the departed plane and back down to the number in her hand. The girl had to have meant something, but what, the woman couldn't figure out. She hesitated for a moment, then pulled some change out of her pockets and went to a payphone nearby. She heard the 'chink, chink', signifying the change dropping in and the dial tone sounded when she put the receiver to her ear. She pecked the numbers in and waited with a baited breath when the phone line connected and started ringing. 'Click', then a woman's voice, "Dusquene."

"Umm… a girl gave me this number and said to tell them Lin gave me this number."

"May I ask who you are?"

"He… Helen Rothrah," Helen stuttered. She heard papers being rustled in the background, "Sorry about that, my colleagues have a bad habit of… oh never mind. Ms. Rothrah, you're at the airport, right? Is anybody else with you?"

"M… my two kids."

"Do you have somewhere to stay tonight?"

"Uh… no… not at the moment." Truth was, she had chosen Miami on a whim because it was safest and the last place anyone would expect her to be in. She heard the woman talking to someone, "Ms. Rothrah, my boss said he'd come to pick you up and he'll be there in about half an hour. Can you tell me what you're wearing, I'm coming with him so he won't have to find a parking space."

"I'm… wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and… gray sweats," Helen replied tentatively.

"Ok, we'll see you in 30 minutes, then. Have you and your children eaten?"

"Um… just a meal on the plane. I brought some money, I'll get some food, thank you."

"No problem." The phone line disconnected and Helen sighed heavily, 'Well, here goes nothing.'


	6. A Story and Trouble

Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:NY, Miami, or the FBI agent from NCIS, but I _do _own a dysfunctional family. One that has little to say to each other and a temperamental uncle. I have said before that I am crazy, not insane, that will change soon if I continue to get stuck in the same house with the raging MAD butthead. Thus playing Rapunzel in the respect of getting locked in a tower with minimal contact from the outside world is best for my mental health.

Author's Note: I would like to thank those who actually seriously read my last few chapters, and especially to those who take an interest in what I write. I am extremely grateful to the people that left a review.

"_No problem." The phone line disconnected and Helen sighed heavily, 'Well, here goes nothing.'_

Lin took out her pink iPod nano and plugged the earphones into her ears, the old Chinese lullaby her mother used to sing to her humming in her ears. She wondered if Horatio and the others had found the woman yet, _'I'll have to do a little digging when I get to New York, I saw her passport, so I know her name is Helen Rothrah. I may need to go to one of those shelters to see what I can find. She dressed plainly, but if the abuse continued to the point where she had to run, that means the law enforcement over in New York didn't do crap to stop it. Oh, I'll give them a piece of my mind, they'll be sorry! I will make sure that every single incompetent moron in a cop uniform or with a badge is to be punished. They're going to have me to reckon with!'_

A flight attendant patrolled the dimmed aisle and saw that Lin was awake, "Miss, do you need anything," she asked. Lin shook her head. She looked around once more to find the ex-agent and co., finding them three rows front and diagonal of her, she blinked tiredly and adjusted her pillow to sleep. She fell asleep almost immediately, clearing her mind so she wouldn't dream of anything. She woke at every little sound, alert for anything out of the ordinary. A light shake of her shoulder jostled her out of her nap. Dinner was being served; her middle-aged neighbor had woken her for that reason. She brought out her light blue notebook and pencil, "_Thank you."_

"Your welcome. Excuse me if I'm being rude, but why is it that you can hear, but you're a mute." Lin shrugged, _"Can't say."_ She couldn't lie, but that didn't mean she couldn't tell part of the truth. She _could_ tell him; just that her instincts wouldn't let her, so technically she _couldn't_ tell him.

"Shame," was all he said. The serving flight attendant came by and Lin recognized him as the uncaring camel that nearly toppled the poor kid. His gruff voice matched his short-fused temper when he asked curtly, "Chicken or beef?" Lin contemplated prolonging her choice and changing her mind every time he gave her a dish just to annoy him, '_Nah,'_ she decided, '_He's not worth it, and I don't really want him in my face.'_

"_Chicken, please."_ He pretty much shoved her platter in her hands instead of putting it on the tray. The man next to her ordered beef. She ate as fast as she usually did and waited for the garbage cart to come around. While she was waiting, she distinctly heard a woman's shrill whine, complaining about the food, "Are you people _trying_ to give me food poisoning! This garbage isn't food. My father will sue you if anything happens to me!" Lin squashed the urge to roll her eyes, _'Another spoiled little girl. When will they learn to grow up?'_

Her thoughts settled on the vigilantism freak of a flight attendant, _'He'd fit in well with Bulk, Skull, and Maniac. He might already have added Ultra to the Maniac for all I know. Oh well, better be safe than sorry. I'll just have to watch him and the unbecoming trio closely. Bulk and Skull won't be a problem, Ultra Maniac, they're wearing shirts with padding and if my assumptions are correct and Ultra is with Maniac, then either of them could attack while I have my attention focused elsewhere. But if I'm wrong and I attack Ultra I… Ah, screw it, I'll just cross the bridge when I get there.'_

She hid her small feet under the navy blue blanket mixed in with a psychedelic mishmash of red and purple. Lin had curled her knees upward to let her heels rest on the edge of the seat. She went to the songs menu of her iPod to choose another song. This one by a Hong Kong singer named Stephy Tang as she worked on a Sudoku puzzle in the book #4. The plane lights had dimmed again after all the trash had been collected. Her eyes drifted shut and her mind weightlessly floated in the dark.

Back in Miami, Horatio and Calleigh had picked up Helen and her children hours before and they sat in the waiting lobby now, Horatio and Helen talking in low tones and Calleigh and Ryan entertaining the five-year-old and babysitting the toddler. Calleigh tried to get Ryan to hold the little girl even as he steadfastly refused, claiming that he would drop her.

Calleigh laughed exasperatedly, "For the last time, Ryan, I have to go get them some snacks and you've handled a baby even younger than this little one here. You won't drop her, just balance her on your knee and bounce her a bit to keep her amused. Or you could just hold her closer to you." Not waiting for his consent, she placed the baby in his lap, forcing him to encircle her with an arm while adjusting her position with the other. Calleigh waltzed off to find a snack vender. Ryan awkwardly held Caitlyn with her back pressed against his stomach. She yawned and rubbed her eyes. Ryan maneuvered her so that both legs were on the same side. Caitlyn snuggled up against his chest, grasping bits of his shirt in her fists, falling asleep almost immediately. His discomfort faded and his gaze softened, '_She _is _kind of cute.' _Leaning into a more comfortable position, he let Caitlyn sleep on him. It was in this compromising position that Calleigh found him in minutes later.

"Aww, and you said you didn't know how to handle a child. Too bad I didn't grab one of the cameras on my way back," Calleigh tauntingly cooed. Ryan scowled, "Don't you _dare_ Calleigh Duquesne. Besides, what took you so long?"

"The other vending machine was broken so I had to go search for another one." She sat down and Leo climbed up next to her, laying his head on her lap. Both children were well under in 5 minutes. Ryan softly patting the baby's back steadily and Calleigh stroking Leo's head soothingly. Ryan and Calleigh snacked on what she bought and drank the lukewarm coffee they'd gotten earlier. Horatio had been interviewing Helen after she'd overcome her initial fear of him and learned that she'd come from a prominent family in New York, marrying Charles Rothrah in an arranged marriage, though they loved each other dearly in every respect as Charles had insisted that they get to date and know each other before the wedding. Leo had been conceived in the 2nd year of their marriage and Caitlyn 3 years after that. Shortly after Caitlyn's birth, Charles had been sent on a business trip by his father, who owns a private hospital, and had gone MIA ever since.

"He's been missing for almost 2 years, the cops think he's dead, I _know_ he's alive though, I can feel it. My," she faltered, "… father-in-law, I think he bribed some of the law enforcement to stop the investigation. I want to find my husband; he knew this and took advantage. He used that as his leverage, beating me blue and green. I lost consciousness many times after he…" She looked away, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes, "Did he force you?"

"No, he's 67, strong as a bull. He no longer has the sexual drive to get aroused but he still took pleasure in beating me. He knew that I would stick around until I found my husband's location. He was right, but he didn't count on me finding it this soon. 2 years is a long time, but he figured it would take me at least 3 more to find the evidence. I found what I needed and bought 3 plane tickets straight from New York. He came to the house and went after Caitlyn and Leo; I let him beat me so he wouldn't hurt my children, he broke the deal. He grabbed Leo by the shirt and nearly grabbed Caitlyn by the neck. I used a frying pan and hit him over the head. We left with what we needed and came here."

"I'm assuming that your mother-in-law knows nothing of this?" Helen scoffed bitterly, "Oh, she knows. I'm sure of it, but she never liked Charles and certainly hated me. Charles may have been her son, but I wouldn't put it past her to eradicate any "weaklings". My husband was the only one in the family that knew how to love, understood what it meant to be human, and at least had a heart. I've seen his two older sisters whip their children without batting an eye. His younger brother uses firecrackers to blow up trapped animals. His whole family is a bunch of cold-blooded barbarians. Their disciplinary traditions are so gruesome.

"Charles is the black sheep of the family, he saw the cruelty of the Rothrah legacy, had to endure it himself, that's why he didn't hesitate to move us into a house on the other side of the city. My father-in-law slipped up and forgot to lock the desk drawer after he left since he was drunk. The people he hired sends him a monthly update; that was what I found. The return address is in Spain, some godforsaken village. I came here first because a direct plane ticket would have cost too much and the transaction would have taken too long."

"It was at the airport that you met Lin and she sent you to us."

"More like she gave me the help I needed," Helen commended softly, "I don't understand something, how is Lin connected to the Miami Dade police department?" Horatio chuckled in his throat, "Why do you ask?" Helen blinked, "She can't be older than 16, she should still be in high school if anything." A quizzical look, "Shouldn't she?" Horatio smiled mysteriously and his eyes traveled over to his colleagues. Helen looked over at her sleeping children, "Your colleagues are naturals; that's surprising. Mr. Wolfe does not look the soft type."

"He's not, I'm not as surprised, but this is new nonetheless. Calleigh has offered her guestroom to you. It would be best if you go home with her, you need protection just in case."

"I don't want to bring you people trouble, it's more than I'm worth. If my father-in-law is tracking me, I don't want to put Ms. Duquesne in danger."

"She knows this, she is a detective; she would have considered all possibilities first. Calleigh feels that you and the children would be safest with her, Mr. Wolfe would be happy to play fortress with the kids." Helen opened her mouth to protest, "It doesn't really matter what you say, we'll just kidnap you and go back to my apartment; no one will be any wiser." Calleigh and Ryan stood behind her, Leo clinging to Calleigh and Caitlyn cuddled in Ryan's warmth. Helen wanted to protest, but she knew she would be fighting a lost cause, "Okay, okay, you win. Thank you very much. But I still need to go to the drugstore and buy some toiletries."

"Sure, Ryan can drive the kids back to my place and I'll drive you to the store."

"I'll just throw confetti and wish you all a _bon voyage _seeing as I don't have the keys to your apartment," Ryan put in. Horatio nearly snickered, '_Since Lin's waked into our lives everything's changed, and all for the better. She has indeed left her mark, even Ryan's starting to quote her at times.' _

"Time to go. Here are the keys, are you sure you can handle them?"

"Yes, go away."

"Go home, it's late. We'll talk more tomorrow, but it would be best to find a job Ms. Rothrah, we need to talk to Lin about this, if I know her, she'll have more information than you do, than any of us do." They parted ways, at _one_ in the morning, Horatio going home to chat with Marisol's picture, Calleigh and Helen went off to the 24-hour drugstore, Ryan holding Leo in one arm and Caitlyn in the other going back to Calleigh's apartment.

Lin was wide-awake; eyes wide open, taking in every detail of the cabin. This entitled her to do a head count of those in the business and economy class. Lin couldn't look out the window since hers was the aisle seat, but that meant she'd be warmer without having to press against the freezing metal of the plane. She had asked for a cup of tea earlier and was nursing the cup between her hands as she thought.

'_Find somewhere to stay while I furnish my apartment. Study some maps so I don't get lost in the freaking city. I can already predict their reactions, most of them anyway. Knowing Stella, she'll freak and drag me to the mall when she sees my luggage. Danny, Don, and Sheldon I can expect a big brother welcome; hair ruffle, one-armed hug. I've never met Lindsay, except from the occasional Lab update I get. Danny, Sheldon, and I will be the three musketeers again. Hmm, I wonder if that Rick Stetler equivalent is still there; that lipstick trick was priceless. I have new plans in store for him to repay the terror he's wrought on the lab's reputation. Mac… well, don't really know. Then again, I can never be sure with that man, being who he is. Too bad I don't have enough light to read, I'm bored out of my wits.'_

They were about an hour away from New York, _'Good, we're almost there.' _She could hear the engine whirring and became conscious of the fact that she was no longer the only one awake. Maniac was up now; he roughly smacked a sleeping Bulk and a snoring Skull up cross the head. _'Crap,'_ Lin thought. The two dumbos sat up groggily even as Maniac swaggered over to the pilot's cabin. Lin slowly took her earphones out of her ears and pulled out her Blackberry Pearl, the phone she'd been using instead of the phone her mother had gotten her.

_SMS_

Lin: _Flight trouble. Both engine triggers fired up. I can't meet at mall, so change of plans. Wait for striker on third or maybe fourth. By the way, mind bringing me a Snickers bar. _

_End SMS_

She immediately shut her phone off, zipping the device back into her backpack. She pinned her hair back up with a chopstick and tucked the other one up her sleeve. She put away her iPod in her pocket and rested in her chair, waiting for their first move. A shot rang out; screams resonated through the plane. The plane jolted. Bulk and Skull, looking smug, brought out a gun and shot a bullet at the wall one row diagonal and behind Lin.


	7. Cumbersome Hijackers

Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Lin and a _really_ messed up iTunes. I cleared out my library so that I could import the new songs by folder and it went and deleted my favorite song! So aggravating! Anyway, enjoy.

Author's Note: I decided to split up the chapters considering people evidently don't like reading long chapters like I do, so the other chapters have been divided as well. Read and review please!

"_Bulk and Skull, looking smug, brought out a gun and shot a bullet at the wall one row diagonal and behind Lin." _

Lin muttered darkly to herself, '_Stupid idiotic COW, it's a freaking pressurized cabin in here and you're shooting like the freaking moron you are! STUPID, STUPID CAMELS! NO COMMON SENSE AT ALL! Does he want us all to DIE before we even CRASH!' _People jumped and shouted, blanching when they caught sight of the handgun in Skull's hand. Lin saw a tiny corner of brown packaging tape on the gunlock. She heard Maniac's harsh voice bark, "Turn off all electronic devices NOW!" Random mechanical 'goodbye's could be heard along with panicked breathings.

Mac and Stella were sitting in Mac's glass-walled office discussing a case when Stella's phone beeped; the phone screen read 'Text Message'. She pressed the ACCEPT button and 'Lin: _Flight trouble. Both engine triggers fired up. I can't meet at mall, so change of plans. Wait at JFK for striker on third, maybe fourth. By the way, mind bringing me a Snickers bar. _' flashed across the screen. Stella frowned, "What's wrong?"

"Lin just sent the strangest message, then again, that's already rare in itself, she usually avoids using the phone period, and she doesn't have a sweet tooth as far as I know. Here, look at this, Mac." Mac read the message and swore, "Call the FBI; tell them the airplane from Miami to New York has terrorists on board. They're armed and at least one of them was trained by a law enforcement agency, most likely part of the FBI. She'll do what she can to stop them, but it may not go as planned." Mac's tone offered no argument; Stella quickly dialed Agent Forell's number. He picked up on the third ring, "Forell."

"Bonasera. We just received a message that a flight from Miami to New York is being held hostage by a group of home terrorists. They're armed; one of them might have even trained in the FBI. The informant said that there are three, they suspect there's a fourth, but he hasn't taken any initiative."

"Are you absolutely certain, this isn't a light accusation."

"Do you _think_ I would joke about something like this?" Stella asked heatedly. She paced around the office as Mac put in calls to all the different departments. The conversation went on for little more than 2 minutes before Forell hung up. Stella ran out, "Hawkes, Lindsay, Messer, Flack get in here!" The four hurried in. Danny spoke up first, "What's up, Mac?"

"Lin just sent a text message; she said that there are armed terrorists on the plane. The flight is due in an hour; she sent the message 10 minutes ago." Don cursed and Danny clenched his jaw. Lindsay looked curious, "Who's this Lin I keep hearing about?"

"You'll meet her when this is over," was Mac's reply. Danny's face drew tightly together, looking down at the floor. A tensed silence fell over New York's brightest, the shrill ring of the desk phone adding to everyone's nerves, making them jump a foot into the air. Mac picked up the phone, "Taylor."

"We're checking the flight lines right now, do you know which company the informant chose?"

"United Airlines, the flight left Miami at 9:00."

"Okay, we've got it, we just checked the Florida FBI headquarters, there _was_ an agent that was fired because he was suspected of accepting bribes, they later found evidence and the file was closed. He's been jobless since."

"How many hostages are there?"

"We're not sure, is it possible to contact your informant?"

"Are you a moron, do you want to put the hostages and our informant in even more danger than they're already in?!" Stella interrupted; Lindsay choked a shocked laugh.

"Anyway, we're trying to gather as much info as possible, but we actually have no exact numbers, guns, hostages, or perps. I'll contact you when we have more." Mac replaced the phone over its cradle, "All we can do is wait now." Sheldon leaned against the wall, arms folded across his broad chest. Don paced the length of the room, "You're telling me Lin's on that plane, tens of thousands of miles up in the air with some maniacs, armed maniacs?!" Don exclaimed. Danny let out an expletive. Mac turned on the TV, the screen blared on to the tomato commercial. Mac flipped to CBS news and the team fell silent, watching the screen anxiously.

Ryan let himself into Calleigh's apartment, both arms occupied by a child. He fumbled with the keys for a little bit, but managed to get the door open nonetheless. He set Leo down first on the couch and then shifted Caitlyn against his chest as he sat down in the couch next to Leo. Leo's messy brown head was on the armrest and his feet by Ryan when Calleigh and Helen returned.

Ryan, who had been sleeping, was awake in an instant, he relaxed as he saw Helen and Calleigh. Helen knelt by the couch, smoothing Leo's silky locks lovingly and gently caressed Caitlyn's sweet face. Calleigh beckoned Helen into the guestroom and showed her to the bathroom. Helen brushed her teeth and took a shower, using a towel that Calleigh provided. She dressed in her white cotton pajamas and toweled her shoulder-length blondish brown hair dry. She and Calleigh got the kids into bed and went back out into the living room where Ryan would be situated for the time being. Ryan was setting up his makeshift bed on the couch, Calleigh went to the kitchen to make tea, and Helen got the letter out so the three of them could study some of the details.

On the plane, Lin and the other passengers were kneeling in the aisles with their hands linked behind their heads. Lin held the chopstick against her left wrist with her right thumb. She swept the room subtly; all the first class passengers had been forced to move back with the economy class and business class. She hid behind a taller man; an older woman squatted behind her. Lin spotted Bulk and Skull towering over a young woman. The woman had wide blue eyes, long blond hair, and a slim model figure. She shrank back from their leathery hands even as they advanced upon her.

"If lose a hair on my head, my daddy will hunt your poor uneducated butts down!"

"Ooooooh, we're sooo scared. Is daddy going to chase us around on his little girl's Barbie bike and hit us with a flower pillow?" Bulk mocked. Skull petted her on the head, "If you're a good girl, we'll be gentle." His face loomed closer to hers and Lin saw that every trace of arrogance had fled form the girl's face and fear had taken its place. Lin quickly did the first thing off the top of her head; she whimpered quietly. This drew the dimwits' attention to her. The blond woman clutched at her thin revealing shirt protectively, hoping that the two men would go after someone else. Lin snorted to herself inside, _'Zebras will never change their stripes, she will always be as arrogant, selfish, and conceited as ever before. They never learn do they?'_

Her seeming helplessness and her "fear" for her safety seemed to pique their interest and they changed their target to Lin. Lin scooted father away from the two slimy lizards and closer to the seats. She pretended to resist when they dragged at her right arm, pulling her into the empty space where the flight employees get their food and pushed her to the ground, Lin cringed, _'Ew, yuck, germ-infected floor! Gross, gross, gross! Those bloody gits! Ew…' _Said gits were smirking horribly, '_Probably thought I fell and hurt myself, ugh, I have to take a shower first things first when I get to New York.' _

Maniac came to stand by the two numskulls, "Do what you want, don't make too much noise, if you do, I don't know what I'll do." Maniac turned around and left after warning his two henchmen. Lin waited until Maniac was out sight and out of ear, then dropped her façade and let her chopstick fall into her palm. Bulk and Skull looked at her, puzzled and surprised at her sudden change in attitude. She threw her chopstick at the acupoint towards the left of Bulk's chest and froze him on the spot. She swiftly crushed Skull's windpipe to prevent him from crying out for help and knocking him out in the juncture between his neck and shoulder. She swiped up her chopstick after doing the same to Bulk.

Lin knew that she would have to wait a while or she would raise suspicion; she made the best of the few minutes rumpling her clothes, rubbing her cheeks in streaks to look like finger marks, and dribbling some Tabasco sauce out of the corner of her mouth in coordination with the finger marks. She made her eyes watery and red as if she were crying, pulling the other chopstick out and mussing her hair. She sacrificed the cleanness of her jeans by smearing red Tabasco sauce along the outside of her jeans on her inner thighs for a more convincing show. Lin pretended to stumble out, limping slightly. Maniac's head snapped from side to side at every sound, glaring when he saw it was Lin.

'_Ever the crouching tiger isn't he? I bet Ultra is the hidden dragon. Or should it be the sleeping dragon? As the favorite motto goes, never tickle a sleeping dragon. Oh well, I'll be doing that anyway, whatever.' _Lin's hoax went off without a hitch, but if she didn't act fast then – BOOM – game over.

'_I just hope I'm not wrong in my theory that Maniac and co. are like the average terrorists with a backup plan in case something doesn't go right and they need to escape. I _really_ hope that thing I saw on Maniac's waistband is an inefficient hydrogen bomb.'_ Lin sighed inwardly. Five minutes passed, Lin counted to three, just waiting for the explosion from Maniac when he discovers his two lackeys bound and unconscious.

As Lin predicted, Maniac tore out into the open aisles like a raging tornado, soon to be twister. Lin smiled to herself as she watched Maniac furiously jerk something from his belt and slam it into the carpeted floor. A loud 'bang' echoed through the narrow space and the impact from the explosion radiated across every surface and every person felt the pressure ripple their skin. The blast shook the plane enough for the emergency system to activate and the oxygen masks swung down from their hidden compartment above. Seconds after, chaos ensued, people jumped up and down, screaming, yelling, and shoving. Lin took this chance to yank one the oxygen masks out of its container, no sooner had the bag deflated, the two elements combined, the gas particles clung to the dust in the air and smoke began forming.

Being accustomed to even the strongest smoke bombs used in the international law enforcement agencies in China, Lin could easily see in the smoke and sought out Maniac. Maniac coughed and spluttered through the white cloud obscuring his vision. She moved swiftly and silently through the thick veil, her hand clamped down on Maniac's wrist and flung him over her shoulder. He rolled out and tried to kick her legs out from under her. She did a back flip, avoiding the vicious kick aimed to break her knees. He lashed out with his left leg again; Lin, being skilled in almost all forms of martial arts, instinctively shifted to Tai Chi. In a flowing motion, she trapped his leg in her two hands, palms facing in, sliding it along his leg until the edge of her hand hit his foot. This gave her enough leverage to pull his leg away from her, dropping him in a split. In response, Maniac rolled onto his back and did a tornado swirl with his legs to right himself and unseat Lin. For retaliation, Lin gripped the ledge of the closest luggage compartment and swung her body over his, dodging his attack.

Staying on defense apparently aggravated Maniac even more than he already was. He could tell she was holding back, obviously. He fought lethally now, of course Lin was just as, if not more, lethal unto herself. Every punch, every kick was powered by rage, he could no longer think straight. Whereas his moves were chaotic, Lin's technique was calm and carefully calculated. Before long, Maniac started throwing daggers, forks, and knives at her. Expecting this, Lin had taken refuge by a wall, determined to limit their battleground and keep the death rates to the lowest. His first dagger went in a few centimeters, his second one buried about an inch in. Judging by the impacts of the daggers, Lin could interpret his distance from her. He was gaining more ground and his third dagger had imbedded itself to the point where half an inch of the point was sticking out of the other side of the wall. She pressed her back against the wall, her sensitive ears picking up the heavy footfalls of her approaching enemy in the dead silence of the cabin.

He walked past the wall she was standing behind; Lin walked up and hit him over the head. He fell with a thud. She ducked down to tie him up, making sure to bind him tightly enough that he couldn't escape, but loose enough that his circulation wouldn't get cut off. She propped an unconscious Maniac against the wall, struggling a little under his weight. She sat back on her heels and froze, knowing someone was going to attack her at her back. Ultra swooped down on her like a vulture finding its prey, but before the vulture could tear its prey to pieces, Lin's seat neighbor stepped in, effectively foiling Ultra's plan. She spun around and watched the two men battle ferociously. The middle-aged man fought considerably well considering his age and kind looks. Despite having age on his side, Ultra had little chance of besting his adversary, they matched each other kick for kick, punch for punch. In the midst of their fistfight, Lin sat on the floor, quietly observing their fighting techniques.

'_It appears this neighbor has had quite a bit of training in the army,' _Lin pondered. Ultra had gone on the offensive and the aggressive pig rammed his head full force. Neighbor moved in time to dodge the head butt and shoved Ultra into a random seat, headfirst. Hauling Ultra up by the neck of his shirt, he pinned Ultra against a lavatory door by his neck. Little by little, Ultra's face began turning red, then purple; his lips were turning blue.

While Lin and the terrorists on the plane warred on, New York City was in a state of panic. The FBI had just alerted the public through the media that another terrorist threat had been made on New York and the safest place to be was at home. Buildings were evacuating one by one, but plenty were still oblivious to the fact that a PLANE WAS ABOUT TO CRASH INTO SOME MAJOR BUILDINGS!!! Sheldon rubbed a hand over his gaunt face. Danny took off his glasses and massaged the spot between his eyes to reduce some of the strain. Lindsay and Stella were sipping at their third cup of coffee in half an hour.

"You know Stel, you might get a heart attack before this is over if you keep drinking coffee like that," Danny supplied. Stella retorted with a bland look that said 'now's-not-the-time-for-jokes'. Don twisted agitatedly around in his chair and kept fingering the pen he was holding, occasionally gripping it to the point where it seemed as though the pen would bend and snap in half, splattering ink on himself and the floor. Stella glared at nothing for a while until her cup of scalding coffee slipped out of her hands and landed on her desk, then rolling onto her chair. Stella caught her cup before the ceramic mug hit the tiled floor and shattered into pieces. Some of the black coffee had splashed on her hand and her clothes; the rest was spilled over her desk, soaking some papers. Stella cursed violently in Greek, "Say whatever you want now, but you probably shouldn't say things like that in front of Lin, she may end up having to wash her ears, and your mouth, out with soap," Mac said, coming out of his office.

"It's not like she hasn't heard me cuss before, it only involves a horse's behind, a pig's head, and a number of other animal parts. She's heard worse."

"Be as it may, you should still watch what you say around her," Mac advised. Danny, Flack, and Hawkes smiled wryly at their two superiors. Lindsay raised her eyebrows, "I still don't know who this Lin is, would someone care to fill me in?" Don shrugged, "Lin's one of a kind, great kid; independent and smart, _very_ smart, tough as nails too, you don't go messing with her. She could give Mac a run for his money."

"Yeah, she could," Mac agreed with the detective. Danny stared unblinkingly at the phone, concentrating so hard that he nearly fell out of his seat when the phone jangled. Danny clambered for his balance and clumsily picked up the phone, "Hello?"

"Is Detective Mac Taylor speaking?"

"Hang on just a sec," Danny turned to Mac, "it's for you." Mac took the offered phone from Danny, "Taylor."

"This is Forell, the evacuation procedures aren't going too well, the majority of the smaller buildings have been cleared out but the larger ones are still having some problems, we're keeping New York City under tight surveillance."

"You still have no certain numbers, right?"

"All we can do now is wait and pray that the home terrorists are stopped so they can't take over the plane." Now Mac understood why Stella and Lin so desperately wanted to dope-slap the Fed. This was going to be a long night. Mac sighed. The whole team looked exhausted, not to mention fearful. To them, Lin was, in every respect of the term, like a little sister. To them, she was their best friend, someone anyone who had gotten past her wall would want to protect with every fiber of their being. In the work area, the clock seemed to be the only source of sound, the second hand ticking slower than ever. New York's finest team all had their hearts in their throats, heartbeats going a mile a second.

"Does Lieutenant Caine and his team in Miami know what's going on?" Sheldon queried. Mac shook his head 'no', "The lines are all busy; besides, it's about 4 in the morning over there." Sheldon nodded absently. Lindsay hopped off the desk she'd been sitting on and dragged her usually energetic self to the vending machine for some snacks and more coffee. Mac looked at his team, "Lin's going to throw a fit when she sees how much coffee we drink on a daily basis." Danny laughed, "Yup, our girl's gonna flip when she watches us down coffee like water."

Back at Calleigh's apartment, she, Helen, and Ryan were crowded around the coffee table, bent over a greasy, dirty, piece of paper completed by a hasty, disproportioned note scribbled on it with the update Helen had mentioned. The creases on the smudgy paper indicated careless folding to stuff it into the white mailing envelope. Ryan brought his CSI kit out and laid the silver case on the ground next to him, he set the camera on the table and opened the lid of the phenochaylene spray can. Ryan took some pictures of the note.

"These look like fun toys, becoming a Batman wannabe?" Helen joked. Ryan rolled his eyes. Spraying some onto the sheet, he distributed the misty substance over the top thinly and evenly, then added another layer before he snapped several photos of the pink fingerprints on the piece of paper, "Well, that's that, we just have to scan it into the computer tomorrow and see if the handwriting matches anything in the database. If not, we can try expanding the search other states, it'll take a while, but when we really run out of options, our only choice is Spain." Ryan explained.

"Why can't we just start with Spain first?" Helen asked. Calleigh inhaled deeply, "Um… let's just say that the law enforcement in Spain aren't really cooperative, they're even more so towards American law enforcements. You said so yourself that it was in some godforsaken villages, in these "godforsaken" villages, security's not too tight and crime is pretty petty so no one would believe us even if we had the proof."

"So, in other words, it'd be a waste of the taxpayers' money." Both CSIs nodded, "Yeah, if you want to put it that way." Helen dropped her head onto the table, "I'm gonna need an extra bottle of ibuprofen in my purse everyday or you guys may very well find bits of my brain particles blown onto the sidewalk due to a head explosion, or implosion…"

"Brain combustion," the two added. Helen's shoulders slumped exasperatedly, "Whatever." The adults laughed, Calleigh grabbed the controller and turned on the TV. Out of habit, she flipped to the news channel, just as she nonchalantly turned to put the controller back, she heard, "…_two terrorist threats. Live on the scene is Reporter Rachel Candice."_

"_Thank you Lydia, here in front of the Central Police Department, protesting citizens are demanding more information from the police since two terrorist threats have been made clear, the police chief in charge has refused to comment until further notice. All that was given was that the estimated arrival time of one plane is around 5 a.m. today September 11, 2001; the second threat is yet to be identified. We've been standing outside awaiting any updates. At the moment, there are no solid numbers or a definite knowing of the situation. This is Rachel Candice reporting live in New York, back to you Lydia. "_

"_Thank you all and we will be right back with full coverage about the man who was accused of sexually abusing his wife and children."_ Calliegh and Ryan were shocked beyond words.

On the plane, Lin returned to her seat and placed the guns on the floor next to her in a plastic baggie, picking them up like doggie manure. Her neighbor spent the last few minutes snoozing comfortably, not in the least disturbed by the recent events. As far as Lin was concerned, no one, not even her neighbor, had seen her take down Maniac or his two goons. As far as the people were concerned, Maniac had already been on the verge of breaking down and seeing his two "partners" lazing around had only pushed him over the edge, causing him to take the brunt of his anger out on them.

She and her neighbor had tackled the duty of dealing with Bulk and Skull after Lin had helped her neighbor tie Ultra up. Lin had changed her jeans right after the basic necessities of the gnats had been taken care of. All four would-be terrorists were bound and gagged, slumped against the wall and each other, in front of Lin and the neighbor. She'd found out that the middle-aged man's name was Robert Jones. The plane finally landed at 5 a.m. and Lin desperately wanted to jump into the shower and wash off all the germs. She also fervently wished for a sink, or basin, or even a washing machine to wash her dirty clothes.

Her Slingbag on her back, shouldering her other luggage with her violin in her left hand, she got ready to leave; turning back to Jones, she lifted her right hand, with her blue notebook and pencil in her clutches, to wave at him. Jones was reaching up into the carry-on compartment and his long sleeves fell back enough for Lin to see the black rose tattoo on the inside of his wrist.


	8. Unpleasant Acquaintances

Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing of CSI but I do own a pinch of normalcy while writing this chapter even if I have lost the little bit of sanity I had left after the onslaught of evil tests I had to take in retribution for leaving early for summer vacation; a sucky one I might add. I think I'd prefer to take my evil History final 10 times over as long as I don't have to repeat this trip EVER again. I got Writer's Block once I got to this chapter because it was really hard to continue from where I left you guys considering I only got like one review from my friend.

Author's Note: The real events in this story are going to be skipping around as far as dates go, but there's no actual year this fanfic takes place in. I would really appreciate more comments from others and thank you to my awesome friends obsessed4life and childofartemis for taking time out of the cleaning and homework and their life to read my story and give some positive and constructive feedback in their longer reviews.

"_SMS_

Lin: _Flight trouble. Both engine triggers fired up. I can't meet at mall, so change of plans. Wait for striker on third or maybe fourth. By the way, mind bringing me a Snickers bar. _

_End SMS"_

"_Jones was reaching up into the carry-on compartment and his long sleeves fell back enough for Lin to see the black rose tattoo on the inside of his wrist."_

Lin's heart stopped and dropped into her stomach, dread sinking into her gut, _'That rose tattoo…but that's…' _Jones turned around and saw her, she snapped out of her trance as he neared her. Lin's face remained impassive, schooling her features into one of nonchalance. She opened her notebook and shook her pencil before writing, _"Your tattoo looks very nice, where'd you get it?" _He was a little reluctant to answer her; he did so, however, as she had cornered him with her seemingly innocent question. If he had any suspicions about her motives for asking about his tattoo, he dismissed them almost at once as the curiosity of a mere child.

"I was visiting my mother in New York once when I walked past a tattoo salon and decided I wanted a tattoo."

"_It's very unique. May I ask why you chose a rose?"_ This time, he was the one who shrugged indifferently, "It was the first thing that popped into my mind. I guess it was more for normalcy." Lin didn't probe any further, she understood that everyone dealt with trauma and death in their own way, if Jones was in the military he most likely was drafted into a war, on the battlefield every man has a price to pay. She understood that seeing so many people – friends and comrades – die in the course of one day could have lifelong aftereffects on anyone.

'_Normalcy…I suppose that would be something nice to have, but that'll never be possible for me. I don't think I've ever been normal in my life, even before…__That's my price to pay for being a certified genius at the age of 7,'_ Lin thought to herself. She started out of the cabin, but then she thought better of it and decided to use her time wisely and take advantage of the empty cabin. She went back under the pretenses of forgetting something and found the seat that Bulk and Skull had been occupying. She got down on her hands and knees and peered around under the chairs for the tape or any other means of hiding the guns. She spotted a small corner of masking tape underneath the cushion of the seat and carefully used her pins to peel the sticky sheet off the offending fabric and zipped it into the baggie with the guns.

She made her way out of the plane and as she got on the ramp, she heard rapidly approaching footsteps and heard panicked shouts outside on the runways and the waiting areas of the airport. _'And here I was thinking it was over, why am I not surprised?' _Lin walked slowly and cautiously. Out of nowhere, a man with a shaved head and dark brown eyes hurtled onto the ramp, "There's a bomb, everybody out!" He nearly collided with Lin – that is, until she dropped into a martial arts stance and flipped him over her shoulder with astounding ease. Well, he definitely did not expect _that_ to happen. Either way, she still flipped him to the ground and planted her knee in his chest. She yanked her notebook out, along with her pencil, and scribbled her message out, _"What on the bloody earth is going on here?! There _is_ no one else here, so tell me what is happening or I'll make your life a living nightmare in the few short minutes before I leave." _The man's brown eyes betrayed the calmness he was portraying, Lin didn't sense any dishonesty coming form the man but cautiously let him up.

He sat up and clambered to his feet, he was a member of the army's most elite and he was as far from calm as anyone would be who found out about a ticking bomb was sitting right under New York's biggest and most populated airport. He stared at the fragile-looking girl and though it was a dire situation, he was well aware that this frail teenager had just taken him down without breaking a sweat. She was also eyeing him warily as well, "Look, I don't have time to explain, but you need to get out of here and I need to go and get the crew members inside the plane, out. There's a bomb underneath this structure and it's about to blow, evacuation measures are being taken which means enough talking." He cut off the conversation curtly, dashing off to recruit the captain and remaining cabin crew that hadn't gotten off the plane yet. Lin was not to be deterred and dogged his heels until they split up and she sprinted to the tail of the plane where two lingering flight attendants were packing up their gear.

Lin reached for their wrists and dragged them unceremoniously out into the waiting area and turned around briefly to see the man rushing the captain and pilots out. The group flew down the stairs and burst through the doors – a moment before the bomb exploded. Lin's head swiveled as she watched the building collapse bit by bit. The windows blew out and the shattered glass showered the crowd and Lin ducked behind one of the police vans, her hands linked over her head. She could hear panicked screams and shouts, pounding feet, reckless honking and squealing tires. She could see the flaming tongues licking the air from the open, pane less windows. She smelled the burning fumes and could nearly taste the rubble and debris from the explosion.

Hours later, the fire departments from all over the city finally had the fire under control and uniform cops were taking statements and asking around. Lin was currently resisting the urge to roll her eyes in aggravation and straining to grind her teeth out of annoyance, _'It's just my luck. It's nearing 9 o'clock, I've been stuck here with two Neanderthals for hours and they've done absolutely zilch! If these are considered New York's brightest, I don't even want to know what the dimmer ones will be like. I'm _really_ desperate for a shower and if I don't get one in the next _hour_ I will definitely have their heads for breakfast,'_ Lin thought impatiently. No one could really blame her, considering the two buffoons were supposed to be "taking her statement", they hadn't done much more than question her and accuse her of being in on the terrorist threat and the bombing.

Arms crossed, Lin leaned on one leg and looked away from the two uniforms to see Mac and the whole team just finishing up their work and coming her way. Anyone in the right mind could tell Lin was at her nerves end. Mac and Stella shared a look, one that said 'Oh dear'. Danny and Hawkes exchanged apprehensive looks, Lin was usually very quiet, but very sweet, on the other hand, when she was ticked off, she was a very formidable white tiger. Lindsay didn't know who the girl was, her shirt was rumpled and she appeared to be _very_ peeved at something – or some_one_. Taking a risk, Mac approached the trio, "What is going on?"

"_These two _officers_ are saying that I knew about the attack on the plane and the bombing. Would you like to make the arrest? Or you could bring me back to the station and check my file for any criminal records."_ Stella didn't need to hear Lin's voice to decipher her tone. She knew that the young genius could take out the entire team in a minute flat if it took her fancy and despite her polite message, Lin was really pissed off and would take their heads off if she didn't get a shower soon. Danny stepped in, "Officers, if you have a suspect in custody shouldn't you have reported to your superior or another higher-up? We'll take her back to the Lab for fingerprints and her file, you're welcome to tag along," Danny drawled, his serious face on.

Lin figured the two cops were following her and the CSIs because they didn't like being showed up by a bunch of "geeky scientists". The group made their way to the H2, before they reached the Tahoe, the man Lin met on the ramp just finished giving his statement. He walked over to Lin and grinned, "You have some wicked fast reflexes and cool moves too, but you're not the average teenager are you, Lin."

"_Who _are_ you? And how'd you know my name? Never mind, don't answer that."_

"To answer your first question, my name's Bob Brown. I get the feeling I'll be seeing more of you in the future."

"_Yes indeed, we will be crossing paths a lot more in the near future,"_ Lin replied with a teensy smirk. Bob smiled, thinking, _'Oh yes, the girl may look all cute and cuddly, and I'm sure Molly would be fawning all over her if Jonas brought her home, but she sure as hell can fight like the devil.'_ He turned back in time to see a white van screech to a stop and the door slide open to reveal a large African-American man.

The two uniform cops took the patrol car while the CSIs, Lin included, piled into their two vehicles. Lindsay, having seen the interaction between her coworkers and the girl, deduced that said girl was the famous Lin she kept hearing about. Lindsay didn't have to be best friends with the teen to realize that she annoyed to the extreme, _'She must be good though, I don't know many people who could take down 4 armed terrorists in a plane without any weapons and minimal panic. Judging by her absolute refusal to show her badge, no one saw her beat the terrorists.'_

Once the door shut, Stella turned to Lin and smiled cheerily, "Ah, the whole gang back together, just like the old times. Is that all the luggage you brought?" Lin nodded as like it was obvious and as she predicted, Stella's mouth thinned into an affronted line and frowned disapprovingly, "Well when we get back to the Lab and get rid of those two uniforms, you better hop into the shower quickly, then I'm taking you to the mall." Lin wrinkled her nose and stuck the head of her tongue out. Danny and Sheldon laughed, Mac and Lindsay smiled. Stella eventually chuckled with the rest of her teammates as well.

Mac pulled into a spot right in front of the large building with the patrol car not far behind. Sheldon pushed the right side door open and hopped out, followed closely by Lin. Mac led the way into the building and the group rode the elevator up in silence. When they reached their floor, they split up; Stella, Sheldon, and Lindsay bringing the evidence into the evidence room while the two cops followed Lin, Mac, and Danny. Heading into the computer room, Mac nodded towards a desktop and one of the cops sat down, typed in his password and foolishly clicked down to the box that was supposed to contain the person in question's name until he remembered that he didn't know Lin's name. An end of Lin's lips lifted in the barest sneer as she huffed through her nose and crossed over to the computer, typing in her name quickly, she hit enter before the cop could get a good look at her name.

She moved away from the monitor and saw astonishment written all over both uniforms face, and she nearly scoffed in amusement. His partner turned to Mac in bewilderment, Mac gave him and bland stare. The screen shone black with a message saying the officer did not have the level of clearance to view the file. Mac gestured for Danny to try and got the same results. Mac typed in his password and was able to access a partial folder. The part that only stated how long she'd been on the police force and what rank she was, but the information was sufficient to make the two uniform cops sweat. At another time, Lin would've found the situation comical, but as it was, she was extremely peeved at said dimwits and desperately wanted to kick them through one of the lovely windows in the room. Danny had to bite the inside of his cheeks to refrain from grinning and bursting out laughing. Mac, having more self-control than his subordinate, refrained from smiling.

The two cops proceeded to apologize profusely to Lin and if her icy attitude was any indication of her forgiveness, they were _far_ from being excused. "This is worse than being railed out by one of the other cops that time when we didn't do anything about the woman who claimed she and her kids were being abused," the bald, fat one muttered to his partner. That was _not_ the right thing to say and _that _was their demise. Lin's eyes darkened dangerously, her breathing ragged and barely controlled. She turned to Mac and Danny, _"You two should go meet up with the others and find Flack; I didn't see him at the airport."_ That was their obvious cue to go. Officer Baldie and his partner pleaded silently with their eyes for Mac and Danny to save them. Deciding not to risk their health, both men left and closed the door behind them, Mac went to his office and Lindsay found Danny outside the room, "You know what, I actually feel kinda bad for them," Danny told her grimly.

"_You WHAT?! A helpless woman comes to a police station to report a crime and all you do is lie to her, you freaking dimwits, you're a shame to the law enforcement and pathetic excuses for a police,"_ Lin ranted while backing them into a wall. Danny and Lindsay cringed at the crashes and bangs emitted from the room. "Remind me never to get on Lin's bad side, Danny. I'm not _that_ suicidal," Lindsay commented.

"She's actually very nice, cool too. And she's generally not this cranky." Funny thing is; even though Lindsay didn't know Lin, she could see the girl becoming a trusted confidante and best friend in the future. The door opened and two disheveled and pale donut-eating cops scurried out of the room quickly and Lin came out looking a bit calmer. Danny popped a head into the room and was perplexed at the undamaged room; he could've sworn he'd heard something break. Leading the way to Mac's office, Lin suddenly stopped to avoid colliding with an African-American man in a crisp, dark gray business suit. He glared down at the Asian girl suspiciously, "Another druggie, huh? Kids these days."

"Ah, Agent Forell, I see you've met our new CSI Detective Lin Hiu Tong." Forell spun around to face Mac, who seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The FBI agent scoffed, "_Her_? Who do you think you're kidding Taylor? The little girl's no more than 16, she's not even of age." Lin bristled at being called a little girl and, though tempted to just karate chop the Fed and break a bone or two of his, merely raised an eyebrow challengingly, _"Are you doubting my ability as a CSI or a detective? Or perhaps you think a _little girl _is incapable of protecting herself?" _Forell sneered arrogantly, "My grandma could take you down little girl, this is no place to play, so why don't you just go home and have a tea party with your dollies." People were beginning to crowd in the hall to watch the match. He was purposely creating a spectacle to humiliate the CSIs and Lin knew it, _'Time to end this quickly and painfully.'_

"_You think you could take me? Prove it."_

"Fighting a helpless child is beneath me, and it would damage my reputation. I'll give you three free hits."

"_Oh, is that so? All right then."_ Quick as lightning she flipped into the air and planted both her feet into his upper back, gravity adding more weight and giving her more momentum to knock him down. He went sprawling face first on the tiled floor and clambered back to his feet.

"_I believe that was only one hit, best out of three?"_ He was furious. Teeth bared, he lunged for her. Lin whipped her body around three times then shot her leg out at a 45-degree angle. Forell barely dodged and lost his balance for a second. That second was all Lin needed; she swept his legs out from under him just as she landed in a crouch. The big Fed landed on his back with a heavy thud and got the wind knocked out of him. Mac gave Forell a hand-up when the Fed could breathe again. Forell ignored the ex-marine and pushed himself back up.

"_Still think your grandma could take me when you run crying to her that a _little girl_ beat you twice with three moves?"_ Lin said scathingly, _'What goes around comes around, he tried humiliating us, he ended up embarrassing himself.'_ If anybody bothered to go digging through the security tapes, they would see an irate FBI, face red, storming out of the building. People were about to start cheering, but the look on Mac's face made them retreat to their original destinations.

"That was a nice move you did, was that ballet?" Stella asked Lin. Lin nodded, _"Mm-hmm, that was a triple pirouette."_ Stella eyes took on a determined gleam, "You have to teach that to me sometime." All she got was a soft, amused laugh. Flack and Sheldon, a guy Lin didn't recognize in tow, turned up around the corner, "Hey, Mac, I was just looking for you guys. Welcome back, Lin." He said playfully messing her hair. Sheldon stepped closer to the group and did the introductions when he noticed Lin subtly sizing the man up, her eyes were shuttered as usual, but Don still detected a speck of wariness, only because he was looking so hard, behind her emotionless mask, "Mac, Mr. McKinney was just leaving, his lawyer is dealing with the ADA. Mr. McKinney, thank you for your cooperation, but as per procedure, it's required that you hand in your passport and all other traveling documents for the time being."

The bald, mousy man shuffled from foot to foot apprehensively, a gesture that Lin didn't miss, before mumbling incoherently as Flack stopped a receptionist on her way to the elevator and asked her to show McKinney the way out. The blonde gave him a flirty smile, her hand lingering on his a _bit_ longer than necessary, then led the suspect down the corridor. Lin looked highly amused even though her face betrayed little of her limited emotions. Don faced the CSI team again with a sheepish grin, "Yeah, anyway Lin, good to have you back," he said, completely ignoring the not-so-subtle, teasing glances the team was giving him, save Mac and Lin. Then the alarms went off.


	9. Tragedy and Faux Normalcy

Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, if I did, that person that contaminated the evidence and got killed would never have existed and Claire and Mac probably wouldn't have been together, actually, she never would have appeared in CSI. Nope, I only own Lin, the plot and the subplots. Yay for me, I'm actually writing again! School has been really hectic lately, so much homework!!! Okay, I was just going through the chapters and realized I put in the wrong chapter for 'Cumbersome Hijackers', so for any of you who haven't read that chapter yet, I've uploaded the right chapter now, so the fighting scene is in.

Lin: Why couldn't I beat the crap out of those morons?!

AngelLove6392: Because it wouldn't have been appropriate.

Lin: Well, can you give me a mallet then? (smiling hopefully and innocently, chibi Lin holding a giant mallet the size of her chubby body)

AngelLove6392: Uh, no.

Lin: But I want a mallet! Fine sigh. Can I have an iron skillet then? (Hyper again, disappears off the scene, returns a split second later with skillet and is holding it like a bat with an excited smile)

AngelLove6392: No, besides you're not supposed to be able to talk.

Lin: (smartass grin) Correction, you made it so I _can_ talk but I _choose_ not to talk. Besides why not?

AngelLove6392: _No_; end of discussion. (Lin getting out her needles) Lin stern voice, don't you dare, I gave you those needles and I can take them away. 'Sides, I'm as good with those as you are, I wouldn't try it if I were you (Lin sullenly puts the needles away)

Author's Note: Okay, for anyone who's confused with how the timeline goes, there is no actual timeline. For the record, Claire isn't Mac's wife and she doesn't exist in here, the last thing we want is for Mac to go emo on us, so there. Thank you to my friend childofartemis for reviewing, and Jill, if you finally decide to own up to the promise you made to I don't know how many weeks ago, I still think you're a lying weasel. Anyway, onto the chapter.

"_Then the alarms went off."_

Everyone in the building snapped to attention at the first siren, people began dashing left and right to the emergency stations, and the phones went haywire. Bells rang loudly and shouts and yells were heard from outside. Lin followed the rest of the team and quickly pulled on a navy blue cap and a CSI windbreaker. Grabbing first-aid kits, Mac and his team rushed out of the glass doors with the streams of law enforcement and other government-funded agency people, paying no heed to the escaping suspects. Car doors slammed shut frantically and tires squealed as feet slammed on the gas pedals. Cars tore off in the direction of billowing smoke clouds and raging fires as screams emitted from the panicked people on the streets.

Mac wore that permanent frown, Stella worried her lip, Danny bounced his knee impatiently, and Lindsay tapped her foot rapidly like Thumper. In Flack's car, similar reactions were occurring from everyone but Lin. Don drummed his fingers against the steering wheel and Sheldon's eyes were darting about out of the window.

Lin quietly observed the passing blurs of New York life through the back right window as Don sped down the busy street through the traffic. Weaving through the clusters of metal on wheels and pedestrians, she felt strangely detached. She knew that this was her nine-year-old self's defense mechanism kicking into gear for the 3rd time; because every time she'd met with a tragedy, it hit too close to home. She tried so hard not to remember, but gave up in the end; attempting to resist and suppress the memory was futile, and she knew it. Staring at the blurs, her mind subconsciously slipped back in time.

_Flashback_

_Beeping machines and blind chatter hovered in the background. Cleaning alcohol, Irish brand soap, and death hung heavily in the air. She stared at the white wall unseeingly. She distantly recognized the fact the ER had been overflowing with patients, that she should have protested that she wasn't injured and that she could wait, but her voice wouldn't work. Hell, her mind wouldn't work! _

_She dimly acknowledged the rambling doctors and nurses fussing over her. Her brain never shut off, never rested, even now it turned restlessly. It may not have worked for her to voice anything, but her brain wasn't frozen in shock. Oh, how she wished it were! All she wanted was to be alone, for some silence to think things through. She kept thinking about what happened during the day. It started out normally enough; got up, brushed her hair and teeth, dressed for school, went to school, got teased, went home to wait for her dad, and had dinner. How could a day that started out so normally end so wrong?! She was just berating her mom and her brother this morning for going to bed so late at night, just chiding her dad for being so irresponsible, how did it… She didn't understand how things went so wrong! She just wanted to curl up and die, was that too much to ask? _

_So many people, so much noise, why wouldn't they all just go away?! She lay limply, letting the doctors do their job, but not cooperating to make it easier. She didn't care that she might go into shock, she didn't care that her skin was cold and clammy because that's what her heart felt like; like a cold vise had clamped around and squeezed, making it painful to breath. She didn't want to hear, she didn't want to see, she just didn't want feel! They finally wheeled her into an empty room, grabbed a pen and the lone piece of paper and relived that night. She only wanted her mommy._

_End Flashback_

When they arrived at the site, Lin knew that it would be another day she would never forget. They worked through the ensuing chaos: whirring sirens, hysterical bystanders, and determined volunteers.

Burning buildings collapsed around the unsuspecting victims unfortunate enough to have been standing too close. Rubble and debris covered every inch of what used to be the Pentagon and numerous other sites, what soon was to become Ground Zero. Death hung heavily in the air; blood flowed like a river, and in the midst of it all, Lin knew that even though the earlier bombing would stick to her mind regardless, she would not have nightmares about it.

The day slipped by and night soon fell, flashing lights from the fire trucks and squad cars still shining strong. Lin crouched next an injured woman and frightened child, tending to the gash on the woman's forehead and the deep cut on her arm. Abrasions marked her legs through her jeans and aside from her head and arm, she was fine. Lin checked over the little girl; save for ash smears on her cheeks and dirt on her clothes, she was unharmed. Lin hurried off to join her team again. They worked endlessly, refusing to take breaks. Mac became even more of a recluse and only Stella and Lin knew why: he was reminded too much of his marine days.

The next day dawned on a right better sight. The Twin Towers were in shambles and other large buildings crumbled, but those that were saved, were safely at the hospital; those they couldn't save… they would always feel regret and guilt for the lives lost, but everyone knew they tried, they gave it their all, what was done was done, nothing could change that. They drove back to the Lab in silence, a tired quiet. Getting back to the Lab, they all grabbed their stuff and went home; except for Mac, Stella, and Lin.

Lin clambered into the shower stall, letting the hot water pound her muscles. She changed and found Mac and Stella in the break room, nursing cups of tea, "Well, at least you haven't drowned," Stella commented. Lin cracked a weary smile and slumped down on the couch, "_Why haven't you guys gone home yet?"_

"Paperwork," Mac replied.

"Waiting for you," came Stella's answer. Lin looked at her, one eyebrow raise sardonically, "_Why, so you can take me home and tuck me into bed?"_

"Of course. Surely you're not dumb enough to think I'd let you stay here or in a hotel until you find an place to live."

"_No, but I certainly was naïve enough to hope you would."_

"And no, Mac, I am not going to let you stay here and do paperwork, you need to go home," Stella said firmly.

In the end, Mac and Lin were too exhausted to argue with Stella and went with her arrangements. Lin insisted on taking the couch and crashed the instant Stella came back with a pillow and blanket.

Stella watched her charge fall into a deep slumber, she always looked serene in her waking hours, but when she was asleep, she looked innocent again, peaceful, and the teenager she was. The Grecian sighed, Lin's life had been turned upside down one too many times, she wanted Lin to have as normal life as possible, and that would start with Christmas, even though it was still a couple months away.

She grinned excitedly, already plotting a Christmas party and ways to keep Lin from figuring it out. A light bulb went off: shopping! She could always call Calleigh over in Miami and see what they did for Lin over the holidays. She skipped happily to her room, crashing a minute later into her bed, having spent all her nervous energy.

1 week later

"_Stella, where on earth are you dragging me?" _Lin asked, then,_ "Never mind, I know the answer. I don't want to go the mall though I don't need anything. I have enough clothes and besides, a case might come in later while the others are out working." _

"You just solved two cases, give yourself a break and be a girl."

Trying to reason with Stella, Lin decided, as she dug her heels half-heartedly into the hallway floor, was futile. She really didn't want to go shopping, but she knew Stella would play the guilt card, which never worked, or she'd get whoever she could to coerce Lin into going anyway, which becomes tedious and annoying.

Lin blew out a resigned breath and followed Stella obediently to the elevator. They met Lindsay on the way out to the car.

"Hey Stella, hi Lin," Lindsay greeted cheerfully.

"You done?" Stella asked, to which Lindsay answered affirmatively, "We're going to the mall – " Lin gave Stella a dry stare and Stella amended, "All right, fine, I'm dragging Lin to the mall, wanna come?"

"Sure, just let me give put my stuff away and I'll meet you guys in the lot." Lindsay squeezed into the packed elevator and the doors slid shut. They stepped out of the warmth of the building into New York's chilling November, the wind rustling piles of yellow, orange, and brown leaves. Lin tugged her white windbreaker hoodie closer around her neck and walked quickly with Stella to Stella's car. They got in and Stella turned on the ignition, blasting the heat and seat warmers. Lindsay came out a few minutes later and got into the back seat, cheeks slightly pink from the cold.

They hurried in from the parking lot.

'_Fashion and glamour, typical New York,'_ Lin thought, surveying the high ceilings and attractive shops. Lin rolled her eyes when Stella hauled both Lindsay and she to a shoe shop. Lin found herself standing, arms crossed, next to Stella and Lindsay, who were trying on some nasty heels, in her opinion anyway. Stella managed to convince Lindsay to try on some heels, but even Stella knew she wasn't going to win practical Lin over on this matter. Lin caught the saleslady shooting her strange looks out of her peripheral every time she thought Lin didn't see. She politely chose not to say anything about it. The three women walked out of the store half an hour later, two with a bag swinging from one hand.

"_At least you've learned to pick your battles,"_ Lin remarked to Stella, Stella huffed indignantly.

"Lin, where do you want to go next?" Lindsay questioned. Lin looked around and saw a music store. She brightened, _"Let's go to that music store."_ They split up when they walked inside the cozy music store.

A soft piano played through the speakers and Lin recognized it as Chopin's Rondo. She headed to the back of the store where instrumental equipment lined the wall and shelves. She found the pack of violin strings she needed in case one of her violin's strings snapped. She wandered over to the country, classical, and jazz section, getting a CD of country mixes, a Chopin CD, and a Michael Bublé CD. The Chopin was gone and in its place was Pachebel's Canon. Lin paid for her things and went in search of Stella and Lindsay; they were peering into a glass case and looking at the music boxes on display, '_Now I know what to get them for Christmas.'_ Stella and Lindsay didn't buy anything.

The next stops were right up Stella's alley: clothes.

"Come on, Lin, just try it on," Stella cajoled, holding out the off-the-shoulder, hot pink sweater. Lin simply shook her head, _"There is no way I'd be caught dead in that color." _Stella tried again, but as it was the fifth time, she conceded defeat. Lin gave her a wry smirk and picked another sweater of the same style, this time wine red. She trudged back into a changing stall and tried on the sweater with a black tank top. She came back out a minute later, looking very chic with her dark, faded, bell-bottom jeans.

"You look ready to kill, don't you think so, Lindsay."

"Definitely, you should dress up more often, Lin."

"_No thanks, the only circumstances in which I would dress up would be if it were mandatory, and as it is, it's not,"_ Lin replied.

"Yeah, but don't you like it when you become the eye candy of every guy?" Stella pointed out, gesturing at the men gaping at Lin. Lin dashed back into the changing room, pink-faced and shoulders hunched up to her ears.


	10. Christmas Eve and Sin

Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the CSIs, unfortunately. I tried to buy off CBS with my savings, but I guess 5 cents wasn't enough. sigh

Author's note: Thank you childofartemis for reviewing, I LOVE YOU!!! Please read and review!!! Jill, if you're finally reading this after I don't know how many weeks, you are the biggest hypocrite and lying weasel I have ever met!

Lin: Yay Christmas!!! (Hyper and bouncing off the walls)

AngelLove6392: Lin, that's enough, you're supposed to be a mature 15-year-old now.

Lin: Just because I'm supposed to be doesn't mean I am. (Sticks tongue out and ignores me)

AngelLove6392: I won't give you any desserts if you don't get off the table.

Lin: You're not the one cooking, I am! Na na ne na na! (Dancing tauntingly)

AngelLove6392: (sigh) Why did I make you such a smart aleck. BTW, do NOT sass me.

Lin: And if I do? (gives me that infuriatingly innocent look)

AngelLove6392: I'll create an annoyingly persistent boy who'll keep on asking you out until I've decided I've tortured you enough and make you say yes.

Lin: You wouldn't dare!

AngelLove6392: You wanna bet? (Lin sullenly climbs down from table)

Christmas Eve

Danny and Flack were hooking up Lin's laptop and installing the web cam, Mac watching from the side and wandering around, studying Lin's apartment. The simply lit tree stood in the corner by the window, piles of wrapped gifts sitting underneath it. Lindsay and Stella were in the kitchen, helping Lin with the food. Hawkes was putting together an anatomy puzzle, brows furrowed in concentration. Lin came out of the kitchen bearing a plate of broiled chicken. Lindsay and Stella followed each respectively carrying a bowl of mashed potatoes and a tossed earth salad.

The delicious aroma filled the small apartment, enticing everyone to abandon his or her previous activities. Lin set the platter down and went back to the kitchen for the rest of the meal. The gang crowded around the table, slobbering. Lin came back out with a bowl of steaming gravy followed by a plate of freshly baked rolls and another bowl of hot pasta drenched in marinara sauce. Stella was almost drooling. Lindsay rolled up her sleeves, getting ready to dive in.

Lin strolled over to the laptop and opened the web cam that Danny and Flack had just set up before opening her Windows Messenger and logging in. Calleigh was already online. Lin opened a message window and sent a web cam invitation and a call to Calleigh's computer. Calleigh picked up and accepted the web cam invitation.

"Calleigh, Wolfe, Lieutenant Caine," Mac and the others greeted. Calleigh and Wolfe grinned happily, Horatio smiled.

'_Where's Alexx and Delko?'_ Lin typed.

"Alexx is at the morgue finishing something up, she'll be here in a few minutes. Eric will probably show up when he's done primping in front the giant bathroom mirrors."

"Hey, I don't primp!" came Eric's indignant shout off screen. Calliegh and Wolfe smirked. Stella and Lindsay grinned at each other. Mac smiled while Flack grinned.

"Where's Messer and Hawkes?" Calleigh asked. Mac, Stella, Lindsay, and Flack looked around. Lin gestured behind her with a jerk of her thumb. Swiveling heads spun to two guilty-looking children caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Danny, Sheldon!" They shrugged helplessly, "But the food smells so good." Flack chuckled and affectionately ruffled Lin's soft, shiny hair, "Looks like we better go grab a plate before there's nothing left to eat, kiddo."

"_You guys go ahead, I'll be there in a sec. There's still hot chocolate in the kitchen. If you want champagne Stella bought a bottle, I put it in the fridge, there should be glasses on the counter courtesy of Mac."_

"You sure, Lin?" Lindsay asked, torn between wanting to hog the food from Danny and Sheldon and wanting Lin to join in as well. Lin nodded. The other four traipsed off to join their comrades in devouring the dinner table.

"_How's Ms. Rothrah?"_

"She's doing well, she got a job as a receptionist at a private business. Her kids are having fun with Wolfe and Calliegh."

"_That's good."_

"What have you found out?"

"_It's a small world."_ Horatio could hear the dry humor in those black-inked words

"Indeed it is," Horatio waited patiently.

"_Dr. Rothrah Senior was a very famous surgeon before he retired. He was the doctor that ruined Alexx's career before she started working for Miami-Dade's Coroner Office."_

"It really is a small world isn't it?"

"_No kidding."_

"What else did you find?"

"_I checked out the hospital records for the Rothrah kids, let's just say that Dr. Rothrah isn't going to be a happy camper once I'm through with him. He'll be a miserable, sniveling, terrified old man when I get my hands on him."_

"You're resorting to violence, it must have been bad."

"_3 ER visits in 2 weeks, you tell me."_

"But Helen said she left because he broke the deal."

"_This was between the time the husband disappeared and when the New York law enforcements declared him dead. It only took a month."_ Horatio didn't need to hear Lin's soft soprano to detect the fury underlying her matter-of-fact explanation. He also didn't need to ask Lin to know that whoever was in charge of the investigation was going to get hell from her too. He certainly didn't want to be in their shoes when that time came.

"I'm not going to ask what you're going to do next."

"_Smart choice, assuming I told you in the first place."_

"The Lin I know can't lie to save her life."

"_The Lin you know also doesn't like to answer questions."_

"Very true," Horatio acknowledged, wisely choosing to keep quiet about the fact that even if she answered a question, it was doubtful that the vague answer would make any sense. He of course didn't need to say anything; she already knew. A nearly imperceptible twitch of her nose told Horatio that his charge was trying to decide whether to be annoyed or amused.

She chose the latter.

"Lin, you better hurry or you'll be washing the dishes," Stella shouted from the table.

"_Not like I don't already,"_ she typed to Horatio, a smirk tugging at her lips. Horatio smiled, but the smile faded when he looked into Lin's serious eyes, he sighed, "There haven't been any mass murders of the same M.O., we think he skipped and left Miami." She thought about the neighbor, and then shook her head, frowning.

"_I better go eat now; it's going to be all scraps left. I'll see you guys tomorrow."_

"Take care, Lin," Horatio signed off after Alexx waved goodbye to her. Lin shut her computer down. Stella and Mac had put a plate together for her – a big plate at that.

"_Are you insane?! I can't finish that!"_ Lin wrote.

"You're a beanpole, you need to eat more, besides it's Christmas Eve, now eat," Stella ordered easily. Lin turned to Mac for an ally; he shrugged with a small smile. Lin smirked and scooped some of her food onto Danny's nearly empty plate and sat down to eat; Stella only said that she had to finish the plate, she never said how much. Stella realized her mistake and palmed her forehead.

Dinner was a joyful affair, laughter and playful banters hurled across the table (as well as a couple pieces of mashed potatoes). Even Mac's usually stern demeanor seemed to have lightened up a few notches, although Lin suspected it had more to do with a caramel-eyed, Greek-speaking CSI. She almost chuckled; Mac was always watching Stella when he thought nobody noticed. It was kind of sweet how oblivious the senior female CSI was, especially when she was such a successful matchmaker in regards to Danny and Lindsay.

Lin glided over to the window of her apartment: snowflakes swirled beautifully outside in the wind. The snow drifted peacefully to the ground like a white blanket. Nursing her cup of hot chocolate she thought about the time when she'd lived in Colorado, her mom always played with her in the snow regardless of how tired she was when she came home from work.

_Flashback_

_Lin heard the door slam as she curled up in the window seat, ignoring her freezing toes and the cold seeping through the window and her flannel pajamas, and into her bones. Her mom came into the living room where 6-year-old Lin was staring out at the swirling snow in fascination. Her mother's hair was dotted with white snowflakes that hadn't melted yet; that made Lin grin. She could see the small bump of her mom's belly where her sibling rested in a sac of water._

_She hopped off happily and scampered after her smiling mother into the kitchen where she helped her mom make two steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Lin carefully sipped at the cup and sucked a marshmallow in. Her mother took off her coat and put on her slippers and slipped Lin's cold feet into her warm, wool socks. Petting Lin's smooth, ebony locks as she stood. _

"_Mommy, is Daddy coming?"_

"_I'm sorry sweetie, but your daddy's girlfriend doesn't want him flying over from New York to visit his ex-wife so close to Christmas, but don't tell your daddy I said that, he won't get it. He called to talk to you that night, but he forgot about the time difference, you were already in bed."_

"_You're divorced though, Daddy's girlfriend knows that doesn't she?"_

"_Yes, but you're still too young to understand." Lin accepted that for the time being and sipped at her drink. The snow drifted slowly now, only a light sprinkle. Her mother tugged her into her room and helped Lin into her ski pants and winter coat. Hiding her ears in her cap, Lin let her mom put their snow boots on. They pulled on their gloves and jumped outside into the foot of snow. _

_Lin giggled and her mother laughed delightfully as they splashed the fluffy snow at each other. The two of them collapsed onto a pile and swooshed their limbs around, making snow angels. Lin clambered to her feet and gave her mother a hand up. They stayed outside for a little while more, making a snowman, complete with a carrot nose, black button eyes, and coal for buttons. Lin found some long twigs buried under the white fluff by the trees which made perfect arms. Her mother found a tall black hat in their closet to complete the look._

_End Flashback_

"Lin?" Lin spun away to face Don and Sheldon. She slightly smiled brightly to dispense the concerned looks on their faces. They grinned back at her, "Stella's about to attack the apple pie in the oven, you should probably go rescue the poor dessert." Lin smirked and brushed past them into the kitchen where Stella was indeed attempting to get the apple pie out.

Lin took over; grabbing the oven mitt from Stella, she stuck her hand in easily and brought the pie out, a faint cinnamon smell filling their nostrils. She brought out the tiramisu she'd made from scratch and set it next to the pie on the tray. She pulled out the batch of scones she'd baked with the pie and piled them onto a plate, scooping out the homemade cream into a bowl and adding spoons to the tray. The team pounced as soon as she set the tray down. She chuckled once, so soft that nobody heard. She squeezed into the fray to help Lindsay cut the pie and tiramisu.

A great deal of laughs emitted from the small apartment, lights twinkling brightly. The CSI team and one detective played and when bedtime came, they sprawled out on the couch and floor.

Lin swept one last glance around the snoring men and turned off the lights, joining the two women in her room and hearing them playfully fighting over the bathroom. Lin took a deep breath and pushed away the longing she knew would be there all day tomorrow. The 15-year-old CSI climbed under her covers, a blank mien descending over her face, concealing any sorrow. The only sign of emotion from her was the softening around her eyes as she thought about the times she and her mother had done the same as Lindsay and Stella were doing.

* * *

'_That fool, shouldn't have gotten in my way.'_

'_What were you doing?! That wasn't part of the plan! What about that bitch and those poor kids getting spoiled and the bastard that laughed and played with them. The kids are going to get it when they go home, did you forget? It would be easier if you put them out of their misery, then the bastard wouldn't break their little hearts and bodies.'_

'_Shut up! I wasn't talking to you!'_

'_I am you, you dolt!'_

'_Shut up and go away!'_

'_You can't run and you can't hide!'_ The junkies and homeless watched the disheveled man pace back and forth anxiously and mutter incoherently under his breath, ice-blue eyes glinting with madness and hysteria. They couldn't see his face, or else they'd have seen pale skin and sweat.

He tugged at the wisps of hair on his head, hands shaking uncontrollably. The man suddenly straightened, eyes cold and hands steady. An body lay, slumped in front of the alleyway. His army boots came down on an unconscious junkie's throat, crushing her windpipe immediately. A knife blade suddenly flashed in the flickering streets. A stream of blood spattered onto the snow-covered sidewalk, red against stark white, sin against purity.

Lin woke to the beeping of her pager. She glanced at the clock, the glowing read numbers told her it was 3 in the morning. She went to shake Stella and Lindsay awake, popping her head into the living room to see the guys shaking the haze of sleep from their minds. They dressed and left her apartment.


	11. Questions and Answers

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY, I only own Lin and the plot.

Author's Note: I'm sorry for not updating for so long, but I've been busier than Lin since I'm no genius and still have school. I think the gods must hate me; my teachers have been bombarding me with homework and tests. If Lin doesn't reappear in a month or two, know that I'm either lying on a metal slab or already 6 feet underground.

Lin: Great, just perfect. Work, work, work, is that all you know how to do?

AngelLove6392: Oh quit your whining, would you rather I give you a day off and have Stella and Lindsay drag you to the make-up department.

Lin: I plead the 8th amendment; that's cruel and unusual punishment.

AngelLove6392: That would defeat the purpose if it weren't. That's not a threat, that's a promise.

Lin: I would hate you except that would be hypocritical of me since I'd do the same.

AngelLove6392: Good, so we have an understanding.

Lin: -- Not even close.

AngelLove6392: (raises an eyebrow amusedly) It actually doesn't matter, complain all you like.

Lin: (scowls) You are a cold, angry, bitter person.

AngelLove6392: So I've been told. Welcome to the real world. Reality's a bitch.

"_Lin woke to the beeping of her pager. She glanced at the clock; the glowing read numbers told her it was 3 in the morning. She went to shake Stella and Lindsay awake, popping her head into the living room to see the guys shaking the haze of sleep from their minds. They dressed and left her apartment."_

Lin and the others arrived at the crime scene 15 minutes later. Don took over from the uniform waiting for them by the yellow crime scene tape once he got an explanation. Peyton Driscoll was already examining the body of a young African-American girl who couldn't have been any older than 17. The wide slash across her throat gaped and Lin didn't have to be a doctor to know that that had been the fatal wound. Stoically, she noted the blood spatter along the wall; the perp was a heartless butcher. Aside from the three uniforms they'd seen, there were couple more taking statements.

She surveyed the surroundings; a dark alley and cold night where any sane person would be huddled by any source of heat nearby, preferably at their own abode, the perfect time for crime. She looked down and her sharp eyes scanned the grids the rookie CSIs had made for their first assignment. A shoeprint caught her attention. Kneeling, she unlocked her case, snapped her gloves on and began snapping away at the evidence before she printed it and bagged it.

"Your victim has many needle marks in her right arm and horizontal bruising," Dr. Driscoll said briskly, her British accent softening her harsh tone. Lin could see Driscoll's breath in the frigid air as she spoke, "The bruise on her neck was anti-mortem, the weapon injury on the neck was the fatal wound, the murderer could have used a knife. She doesn't have any defensive wounds on her hands or on her arms."

"Either she knew the guy or she was doped up and on a high," Danny remarked.

"Did she die instantly?" Lindsay asked.

"I won't know until I do her autopsy," Dr. Driscoll replied.

Lin tread carefully around the perimeter, following the tracks in the snow, they continued on and on; she stopped halfway. Going back to the crime scene, she recruited uniform and Stella to go on a follow the footprints expedition in a squad car. They disappeared off the curb at the end of the block, literally disappeared into a pair of tire tracks. Carefully taking photos of the footprint trail and lifting a footprint, the Crime Lab dayshift left for the Crime Lab to process the evidence. Lin was processing the fingerprints from their vic and running them against missing persons as well as the shoeprints. She hadn't really paid attention to the shoe patterns at the crime scene, but when she absently turned to look at the bagged shoeprint, her heart plummeted into the pit of her stomach. She'd seen that shoe pattern before – in Miami.

"Lin, you okay?" Stella asked.

"Maybe you should go catch some shuteye," Danny suggested; she hadn't been herself lately. He watched her swallow once – hard. Something was definitely not right.

"_I've seen these prints before."_

"What? Where…" Even as Hawkes trailed off, he knew the answer. He was familiar enough with her past to know that it had been a horrible one – one that she would never forget. Stella and Danny understood the significance of the of the lack of explanation. Lin's face hardened to marble, her expressionless mien set in stone.

"Stel, the eyewitness…" Don took one look at the silent group and made his own conclusion from the hard set in Lin's features and Hawkes' worried look.

"Are we going to have to contact lieutenant Caine then?" Don knew his bluntness had shocked them, and Lindsay and Stella would berate him later for being insensitive and cruel, but Lin was like his little sister, and he knew that she would prefer his honesty to sugarcoated comforts. He let her straighten her composure first before the two of them left the lab to find Mac. He could tell she was confused by the turn of events, shocked even. He put a hand on her thin shoulder and squeezed, _"I can handle it, I'll call Uncle Caine and the others to let them know, but I don't want them sending in reinforcements. If my theory is correct, then this monster that we're hunting is a serial killer, linked to multiple states, we can't involve them all when nothing's concrete. But if the bootprints from the crime scene are a match to any in the system…"_

"I don't know what to say, I don't wanna see you lose yourself because you're mad. The bastard took your family, you're already emotionally involved, should you be handling this case?"

"_I became a CSI, because I wanted the monster that took everything away from me, but I realize that he inadvertently gave me a new life, made me stronger. I hope, that when I find him, I can be as calm and as rational as I usually am, but the best-laid plans often don't go as planned. I know that when I confront him, I'll likely go back to being the distraught 9-year-old for a moment, and lose perspective, but you know me as well as I do; if I can't handle it, I'll tell Mac, or you do it. I promise I won't hate you."_

"That's good to know, but do you care about the consequences. If you batter yourself or get hurt, the whole team's gonna hurt and it'll become a case of personal vendettas, then the bastard'll get off on a technicality," Don argued. He didn't care that the attempt was futile; he just wanted to keep family safe. He knew that he was one of the few people that Lin had been brutally honest to, no one in the New York Crime Lab, aside from himself and Mac, knew exactly what happened to Lin as a child. Hawkes remembered reading the autopsy reports about the deceased families, but that was as close as he got to the truth. Mac was especially protective of her when things hit too close to home. And even though Mac hated politics, he knew better than to protect her up front when he knew she was tough enough to withstand any attack and would likely result in her kicking his butt.

"_Think aloud."_

"Speak for yourself." The silver-blue-eyed detective retorted.

They found Mac in his office, in what seemed like a heated conversation with none other than M.E. Peyton Driscoll. Both she and Flack were aware that Mac had been involved with the beautiful, sophisticated Brit before and then split, but only Lin knew exactly why they did. It was the same reason why Peyton was always so cold and brisk to everyone when Stella was around. She knew that Peyton still held affections for Mac and if she had to hazard a guess as to what they were arguing about, Lin knew that the heated discussion involved a certain senior, Greek, CSI. She put a hand on Don's forearm, stopping him when they were almost outside of Mac's office.

"_Let's wait 'til their finished."_ It didn't take too long; Mac spotted them outside his office and said one more thing. The look on Peyton's face told Lin and Don she wasn't pleased that the tête-à-tête had been cut short.

"I keep expecting her to pull a Godzilla and tear Mac's office apart."

"_Best not say anything to Mac about that."_

"Hey, I didn't go to Harvard and I'm no math genius, but even I'm not _that_ stupid." Don could see the ends of her lips twitching and as much as he wanted to be peeved, he was glad that he'd given her a temporary reprieve from the horrors of the world.

The glass door flung open and Peyton glared accusingly at them before storming off.

"Looks like somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today."

"_Touchy isn't she?"_

"Are you coming in?"

"_Isn't he?"_ Lin added, humorlessly now. Don let her in first and followed in suit.

"The vic we found this morning came back to a Tanya Sonjan in missing persons, the vic's parents are coming in today to ID the body."

"I think there's something else."

"_You know the shoeprints at the crime scene, I recognize them from several different cases in Miami, my own included."_

"So you're thinking that a serial is on the loose and striking again." Lin nodded. Don said nothing. Mac frowned even harder and looked at the ground.

"I'm assuming you're telling me this so I can pull you off the case if you can't handle it?" Again, she nodded. Mac pinned her with his sharp blue gaze, "Lin, promise me that you won't pull some stupid stunt. I know what vendettas do to a person."

"_I can't promise anything, which is why I'm giving you two the go-ahead to keep me in line."_

"A checks-and-balance system." Don spoke up.

"_More or less, only I don't think you two need to keep a check on each other, it's not likely that you guys'll cross the line."_ Don and Mac exchanged a wry look, "More than you know, kiddo. More than you know."

* * *

They worked through the day with another 1013, robbery, at a jewelry store in Brooklyn. At the end of the day, Mac and Stella left together, Lindsay and Danny went to a family dinner, and Hawkes, Lin, and Flack went back to her apartment. They picked up a pizza and some soda on their way back.

"_It's Christmas guys, why the somber looks."_

"We're getting old, we're not stuck on a constant sugar-high." Hawkes replied. Lin knew that was out of character for Sheldon. It suddenly hit her that they were all feeling lonely, she just got so used to the feeling that she dealt with it like any other feeling or lack thereof.

"_Why don't you guys ever go on dates?"_

"The same reason you don't," Don answered vaguely.

"Now this I gotta hear, you never mentioned a special lady."

"_I think Detective Angell has a crush on you, Don, if you can't bring yourself to confront your past then I think you could give her a chance."_

"You lost me," Sheldon said as he picked up a slice of cheese pizza.

"My first girlfriend was my high school sweetheart and best friend my entire life, we went to the same college, broke up sophomore year."

"Your choice or her choice?"

"I thought it was mutual, but looking back, I realize it was mine because I was too immature to know what love meant. She disappeared after I started dating a rich blonde."

"_You jerk,"_ Lin accused good-naturedly, then she sobered, _"I don't know if I want to take the chance of putting my heart in someone else's hands again. My past was a violent one, the fact that in a few months it'll be my family's 7__th__ death anniversary just reminds me how much it hurts when you lose someone you love. I know you were curious, Sheldon, about the why. When I was 9, my parents and my little brother were brutally murdered. And the bastard's back in town."_


	12. History Repeats Itself

Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI, I only own the plot and Lin.

Lin: _Now_ can I have that mallet I was asking for in chapter 8?

AngelLove6392: The answer is still no.

Lin: _Why_? It's not fair!

AngelLove6392: On the contrary, it's _very_ fair. I know exactly what goes on in your mind, I created you remember? I wrote this story? That's a rhetorical question by the way.

Lin: NO, you don't! You suck!

AngelLove6392: If you say so, Lin, if you say so.

Lin: I do say so. If I can't have a mallet, then can I have a bazooka?

AngelLove6392: Absolutely not, there's now way in bloody hell I'm going to arm you with that thing!

Author's Note: 'The Wings of a Whisper' is sadly coming to an end soon tear, but it doesn't mean Lin's story is coming to an end. Her next adventure will follow in The Unit, I've yet to decide on a title. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter. Read and review please!

* * *

"_And now the bastard's back in town."_

* * *

Christmas passed peacefully without another incident. Well, aside from a case of indecent exposure from one of those street Santas and his elf.

"_Great, now I'm scarred for life."_ Lin grumbled. Stella laughed, "I will admit that it was probably more than you should've seen, but even you have to admit that it was pretty funny. Besides, it's not everyday I get to see you flustered and terrified, the look on your face was priceless." Lin scowled, _"Glad to be of service._" Stella laughed again._ "Well what was I supposed to do, we get a call in and I expected to find a cold, dead body, instead I walk in and find Santa and his elf _flagrant delecto _and going at it like bunnies! Sick, sick, sick! I think I'm gonna puke."_

"Hey Lin, I heard about what happened this morning. Did you enjoy the show?"

"_Ha ha ha, you're a stand in comedian, Messer."_ Lin turned back to her steaming cup of tea and ignored their teasing for the rest of the day – but she oh-so wished she didn't have photographic memory, now she was going to have another nightmare to add to her list.

"Well sis, looks like you're on your own," Don said with a mock sigh.

"_Save your charm for your girlfriend, I'm sure you'll need it in stock for Devin."_

"Ouch, Don, you just got dissed."

"_I'm sure his pride survived with little damage."_

"You know, Danny, I wouldn't keep egging her on if I were you, she does have a date with your girlfriend."

"Nah, Lin's not that type." Lin smirked, _"For that, I'll let you off the hook, but looks can be deceiving. You'd be surprised how vindictive I can be."_

"Ain't that the truth. You remember that Fed. that came in here the last time Lin visited and tried to bigfoot us?"

"How could I forget such a classic." Their pagers suddenly went off.

"_Break time's over. Hop to it."_

"You'd make a good drill sergeant." Don said to Lin as they all got up and headed for the door. Lin shrugged, more amused than insulted.

"That's new."

"_There's a first time for everything."_

* * *

"High profile case much?" Detective Angell was already there as well as the chief and the mayor. Peyton Driscoll ducked under the yellow crime scene tape and completely ignored the CSIs. Not that they cared.

"The vics are the Mayor's brother-in-law and family. The mayor's wife dropped by this morning to pick something up and found them, she screamed and some neighbors called 911."

"According to the mayor, the last time he saw the vics was on Christmas Eve." Lin looked lost in her thoughts.

"_A family of four?"_ Grimly, Don nodded.

"_The children were about 9-10 and 3-4, one boy one girl?"_

That surprised Don.

Mac frowned, but said nothing. He knew Lin well enough to know that she wouldn't say anything until she was ready – and she wasn't yet.

Stella, Lindsay, Danny, Sheldon and Lin went in to process the crime scene.

* * *

Lin grimaced inwardly at the decomposing bodies sprawled on the carpet before her, the smell of deteriorating flesh. She didn't want to have to do this again. This was the last time.

"When's the TOD?"

"There's no rigor present, and judging by the stage of decomposition as well as the room temperature, TOD could be anywhere from 24 hours to 36."

"COD?"

"Lacerations to the neck. Defensive wounds on their hands and forearms."

The M.E. left 15 minutes later with the bodies.

Lin forced herself to remain detached though the blood spatter on the walls reminded her of her room, the pools of blood surrounding the chalk-outlined bodies of her family, and the sounds of the media of her past. She didn't like being reminded.

* * *

Back at the lab after another painstaking 5 hours that left the CSIs badly wanting a shower and to go home to their loved ones to remind them that life still went on, Lin lingered in the locker room, her hands clasped loosely between her knees. Her damp hair fell forward, partially covering her face; she didn't bother to brush it back. The others were still in the showers, unused to the brutality. Lin that the only time they'd encountered a mass murder like this was with Henry Darius.

And even he was less brutal.

"Lin, you okay?"

"_I will be."_ Stella could read between lines and understood what Lin omitted.

She'd be okay when they caught this monster. Not if: when.

"_Stel, promise me that you won't live with regrets, that you won't go home alone tonight."_

"I…I don't know what you're talking about."

"_Don't pretend, it's not worth the energy, not when I can see right through you."_

"How long have you known?"

"_Since the first time I met you two."_

"That's a long time."

"_And it's proof of how obstinate you two are. Not to mention dense."_

"That's comforting." Lin shrugged. Stella was going to need the human contact tonight.

* * *

A little more than unnerved by Lin's frightening accuracy and knowledge, Stella headed down to the morgue. She didn't know how, but somehow the teenager knew that her mind had jumped back to the time of her own captivity, the one time she'd been forced to kill. And somehow Lin knew about her feelings for Mac. _That_ was scariest of all. She stopped trying to count the times she'd woken up from a nightmare, Mac's name lodged in her throat on a cry. Mac was her best friend, and she'd almost lost him to Peyton. Lin was right, in their line of work, getting killed was one of the dangers and Stella would hate herself if she never told Mac.

"Hey Stel, how's Lin?"

"She's been worse. Mac, you wanna come over for pizza tonight? I don't really want to be alone." The last half came out tentatively, almost timid.

"Anytime Stel, anytime."

* * *

Stella and Mac were in the morgue, Sid doing the autopsies per Mac's request.

"TOD was around 1 AM on Christmas. COD was the loss of blood from the neck wound. This monster's sick, he killed the dad first, then the kids, and finally the mother."

"He wanted her to suffer."

"And the cruelest way was to let her watch her own kids die.

* * *

"Lin, Lieutenant Caine's on the phone with Mac, Mac wants you in his office," Lindsay said as she popped her head around the doorway. Lin nodded and set her cup of tea down.

She stopped outside the open door. Mac looked up and beckoned her in.

"Yes, we'll keep in contact, Lieutenant." He hung up the phone and turned to Lin, "I've notified the Miami PD and Virginia PD."

"_The footprints came back a positive match then."_

"You weren't expecting it to be anything else."

"_I guess I wasn't. But the MO's don't match, do they?"_

"No, they don't. He might have a partner, or these murders are simply coincidence."

"_You and I both know that there's no such thing as coincidences."_

"There's no other explanation for randomness since you're so sure that this serial killer has no accomplice."

"_Mental illness, such as schizophrenia. The way he kills, the murders are indicative of the symptoms of a sociopath and a rare psychosis that's triggered by an object or something in their past that caused the psychosis."_

"You've given this a lot of thought."

"_Can I not?"_ He knew it wasn't a question to be answered.

"What do you mean a psychosis?"

"_I remember that night, it was storming. Ever since then, every major storm in Miami, I knew with utter certainty that another family would be destroyed. I checked the weather reports on all the days of the murders with the same MO, the evidence corroborates my theory."_

"Okay, the psychosis is a reasonable explanation, but mayor's brother-in-law and the sociopath?"

"_It's escalating, _he's _escalating, it's not the thunder that's the trigger anymore, do you remember the weather on Christmas Eve? It was snowing – hard. I'm saying that it's possible that he already is a sociopath, or the split personality battles ends up with the wrong side winning."_

"You're saying this guy could be a regular guy with absolutely no signs of being sick?"

"_Haven't you heard the saying? Evil comes in the guise of a friend."_

"A serial killer is hard enough to find, one that fits your description is even harder."

"_The bootprint is standard army issued. I remember cold, dead blue eyes, and a rose tattoo on the inside of his wrist."_

"So we're looking at military?"

"_Or veterans."_

"You have someone in mind." A statement, not a question.

"_Someone I met on the trip here."_


	13. You Make Me Wanna

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I only own Lin and the plot, I own nothing else, though I wish fervently that I did.

Lin: You are evil you know that.

AngelLove6392: I do know that.

Lin: You're also idiotic, insensitive, and everything in between.

AngelLove6392: Uh, sweetheart, there isn't anything in between.

Lin: Yes there is! I say so!

AngelLove6392: Yeah, yeah, you're just sore 'cause I won't give you weapons of mass destruction.

Lin: A mallet is not a weapon of mass destruction.

AngelLove6392: It is in your hands, under breath, if you bang on peoples' heads the way you bang on all the pots and pans within a mile radius.

Author's Note: I also present the simultaneous sequel to "The Wings of a Whisper", titled "Past, Present, Future".

Summary: A new coroner joins their ranks. Someone with a hidden past of their own. Someone who affects one of theirs like no other.

* * *

"_You have someone in mind." A statement, not a question._

"_Someone I met on the trip here."_

* * *

Working with the sketch artist took the rest of the day. At Mac's suggestion, Lin recreated Robert Jones. When the sketch was done, Lin covered the lower half of the face and the forehead until only the eyes showed.

She couldn't fight the chill sinking into her bones.

* * *

Mac and Stella dropped by the pizza shop near her apartment and grabbed a large pepperoni pizza along with some soda pop. Bracing themselves against the biting cold wind, they sped walked the short distance from Mac's car to Stella's apartment and she quickly let them in. Laughing, they piled into Stella's warm home and shut the world out. Hanging up their coats and scarves, Mac set the stuff down on her coffee table and Stella went to get some plates and cups.

"Thanks for doing this, Mac, I just… seeing that case today made me think of that day."

"Don't worry about it, Stel. Even if you didn't ask I was going to come up here anyway," Mac replied, handing her a slice of pizza. Stella chewed distractedly on a slice of pepperoni, wondering what … how… to tell him. She passed him the controller and he turned on her TV, with the sound muted, and flipped to the news channel.

* * *

Aware that Stella was staring at him, he hid the sudden flush in his cheeks. Mac waited patiently: he knew she'd say something when she was ready.

* * *

Stella bit her lip and took a deep breath as she made a decision.

"Lin said something strange to me tonight, it struck a chord. She told me not to live with regrets. I think what she really wanted to say was that life was too short and unexpected and that we should live every day to its fullest. We'll always be best friends no matter what happens, right, Mac?" He nodded, "I don't know how to say this, but the day I saw you and Peyton together, I felt like my heart had just been ripped apart. I thought I lost you to her. Truth is: I…" Stella lost her nerve at the last second and fell silent. Mac finished for her, "…love you." She froze, "What?"

"I love you." She was disbelieving, did he actually say what she thought he said?

"Yes, I did just say what you thought I just said."

"Hey, no fair, stop reading my mind," Stella pouted, then she smiled, "I love you too."

* * *

Sheldon turned off the faucet and stepped out the shower stall into his steamy bathroom. It was his third shower and still he couldn't wash away the image of those kids, the horror. For the umpteenth time today, he wondered how Lin dealt with everything the cruel world hurled at her. Seeing the crime scene of the family, Sheldon could imagine what had happened to her. And if it affected him, an outsider, like this, he didn't want to think what it was like for her.

Dressing in sweats and a hoodie, he padded into the kitchen for a hot cup of tea and settled on the couch for a rest. He closed his eyes as exhaustion took over. His eyes immediately snapped open, because the moment his eyelids shut him in the darkness, the kids' lifeless eyes stared at him. He picked up the phone to call Don, but stopped just before he dialed the last number: Don would probably be with Devin. So instead, he called Lin. Looking at his hands, his strong fingers trembled through his iron grip on his cup. He knew it would be a long, long time before he would forget this case.

* * *

Contrary to popular belief, Don didn't go to Devin's apartment that night. He'd begged off dinner, claiming a headache and loads of work to do. Truth was, he'd gone home, thinking about some past mistakes that he wished he could do over. He'd taken another shower and as the water pounded on his tense muscles, he thought about the one girl who still haunted his dreams. In fact, he was even starting to hallucinate. Just the other day on a date with Devin, he thought he'd seen _her_, but when he turned around, _she_ was gone. He reluctantly picked at his dinner, not wanting to call Lin or Hawkes for the pure reason that he knew he had to figure this out for himself.

What Lin said was true, he either avoided relationships altogether or his girlfriends never came close the engagement because he kept comparing them to _her_. He couldn't bring himself to confront the biggest mistake of his life, so he'd moved on. Devin was the complete opposite of _her_, bold, passionate, open, and colorful. It wasn't that _she_ was dull, simply that _she_ was more conservative where Devin had no inhibitions. He'd been attracted to Devin _because_ she didn't remind him of _her_. And yet, he still couldn't stop himself from comparing his other dates to _her_. He tried to convince himself that it was simply because _she_ was his first girlfriend and so he had no other comparison, though in retrospect he mentally slapped himself for insulting _her_ memory.

Don blew out a breath as he flopped down on the couch and flipped on the radio. Blue's You Make Me Wanna drifted out into the room.

You know you make me wanna...  
You know you make me wanna...

To start it off I know you know me  
To come to think of it, it was only last week  
That I had a dream about us oh…

Oh, this was cruel. He pleaded the 8th amendment. He had a dream about her every night. It was always the same: the look in her eyes when they broke and she walked away, never looking back. And yeah, she definitely knew him like the better than the back of her hand.

That's why I'm here, I'm writing this song  
To tell the truth you know I've been hurting all along  
Someway let me know, you want me girl

He scoffed at that. Okay, so he'd admit that maybe it hurt a little, but there was no way he'd contact her and he knew that the reluctance was mutual. He wasn't going to beg her to come back to him, even if he wished she would, and she wasn't going to get back together with him.

Everytime you see me what do you see?  
I feel like I'm a poor man and you're the queen  
Oh baby, you're the only thing that I really need  
Baby that's why...

He really did wonder what would happen if they saw each other again. He remembered their childhood summers, spending most of their days outside, enjoying each other's company and having water fights. Even then he knew that their friendship was all that kept him from insanity. She was indeed an angel and he a mortal, but she never acted above anyone, if anything she was more humble than the entire town put together, not that it was a very big town.

She was his lifesaver.

You make me wanna call you in the middle of the night  
You make me wanna hold you till the morning light  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

He actually reached for the phone before he realized it and quickly pulled his hand back. He reasoned to himself that 1) He didn't know where she was and 2) The phone number probably changed after so amny years. He told himself it wasn't because he was terrified of her reaction, 'I mean, I've faced down worse criminals, stared down the barrel of many guns, and even got caught in a bomb once, why would I be afraid of a defensless woman.'

But he knew the truth.

I know this is a feeling that I just can't fight  
You're the first and last thing on my mind  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

At the end of the day, he was afraid of how much control she had over him. The strange feelings she brought out in him.

Well I know that these feelings won't end now  
They'll just get stronger if I see you again  
Baby I'm tired of being friends  
I wanna know if you feel the same,  
And could you tell me do you feel my pain?  
Don't leave me in doubt

Everytime you see me what do you see?  
I feel like I'm a poor man and you're the queen  
Oh baby, you're the only thing that I really need  
Baby that's why...

You make me wanna call you in the middle of the night  
You make me wanna hold you till the morning light  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

I know this is a feeling that I just can't fight,  
You're the first and last thing on my mind  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

I'll take you home real quick  
Sit you down on the couch  
Pour some Dom Perignon and hit the lights out  
Baby we can make sweet love

Then we'll take it nice and slow  
Gonna touch you like you've never known before  
We're gonna make love ohhh…

You make me wanna call you in the middle of the night  
You make me wanna hold you till the morning light  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul  
I know this is a feeling that I just can't fight  
You're the first and last thing on my mind  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

You make me wanna call you in the middle of the night  
You make me wanna hold you till the morning light  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

I know this is a feeling that I just can't fight,  
You're the first and last thing on my mind  
You make me wanna love  
You make me wanna fall  
You make me wanna surrender my soul

As he drifted off to sleep, he remebered the feel of her in his arms when they slept outside on the warm summer nights in the treehouse complete with blankets and pillows.


	14. Face to Face

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own CSI: NY, I only own Lin and the plot.

* * *

Lin: I can't believe you're making me play hide-n-seek with this psycho.

AngelLove6392: It's your job to play finders-keepers with said psycho, remember?

Lin: That's not what I signed up for.

AngelLove6392: Actually, it is. Besides, it's not so bad.

Lin: Easy for you to say, you're the one sitting safe and sound behind the computer.

AngelLove6392: My, my, could the mighty Lin actually be afraid.

Lin: You know what, you're just another one of those heartless puppet masters. To you, we're all just pawns.

AngelLove6392: I wouldn't go that far, although being called a puppet master is a first for me.

Lin: I'm not afraid for your information.

AngelLove6392: Uh huh, I believe you. And for the record, I _do_ have a heart.

* * *

Author's Note: I hope the plot has been pretty interesting thus far, that it hasn't been too confusing, if it has, I apologize. Read and review!

* * *

Lin and Sheldon went to work together in the morning, Sheldon had called her last night, she knew he would, because like her, he would be seeing those kids for a long time to come. She'd gone over to his apartment where they ended up playing _Operation_ and _Clue_ until they were both sick of board games. Then they'd sat and talked until Sheldon was too tired to think about anything. Lin couldn't sleep at all, so she just curled up on the couch and thought about the day of her family's burial and felt the tears clog her throat.

* * *

_June 3__rd__ dawned bright and clear, mocking the raging storm inside of her. Dressed in all black, she placed her rose on the coffins, clenching her jaw to keep the tears in. When the burial was finished and all her mother's friends paid their respects, they left. She stayed there, staring at the headstones. A single tear dropped onto the back of her hand, leaving no streak on her cheek. She'd vowed then and there, to never rest until the monster was behind bars._

'_Happy Birthday to me,' she thought sarcastically. Her birthday wish: to rid the world of all evil so that _no_ one, child or adult, would ever have to feel the keening loss of a family member again, not if she could help it. Her gaze moved to her brother's headstone and she bit the inside of her lower lip, 'I promise, bro, I will _not_ let him off so easily.' Horatio and Alexx were waiting for her by the car, she climbed in and they took her straight to the airport. She went to Harvard and graduated at the top of her class by the end of the month and majored in Pre-Med as well. She officially joined the ranks of the CSIs years later though; she'd traveled to Asia and studied all the martial arts she could learn before she returned to face her enemy. By the time she'd returned to Miami, she was already 13. She fought crime with an intensity that consumed her entire being, a dedication that resulted from the loss of her own family._

* * *

As she thought back on it, she realized that she'd done her best already; whatever happened next wasn't in her hands.

Without her noticing it, the night had passed and a ray of sun cut through the binds to warm her frozen hands. She woke Sheldon and here they were, back to another grueling day of work. Mac met them halfway from the elevator. The grim look in his eyes was all Lin needed to know, _"They found him._" Mac nodded gravely, "The unis found the apartment where he lived and called it in. Time to suit up."

They each grabbed a police standard Kevlar vest and hopped into the police car, Lin armed with a department issued gun for the first time. She wasn't planning to use it, but since the suspect was armed and dangerous (huh, where has she heard that before?) the department insisted everyone go out there with protection. Her nerves were tied up in a huge knot, they shouldn't have been. She should have felt relief that he was found, and yet she didn't, she simply felt that pain coming back to gnaw at her fragile emotions. She wanted this monster off the streets, perhaps from selfish desire, but also to keep the psychomaniac from killing anymore innocent people. She absently reached around her abdomen to finger the holster even as she fought within herself, in the end, her hand left the butt of her gun and clenched against her leg.

"Lin," Stella started. Lin shook her head, _"I'll be fine. I need to let go of the past to move into the future."_ The car stopped and they all slid out.

"The suspect is armed and dangerous, keep your weapons out at all times."

Trooping up the stairs, they ignored the alarmed looks on the residents' faces as they tromped up the stairs silently. Don signaled for them to stop. The two groups surrounded the apartment entrance as two SWAT members busted down the door and rapidly threw tear gas in before they all stormed the place. Lin joined the SWAT members as she was the only one to be able to see.

* * *

3 hours later

* * *

Jones had been brought in hours before and the CSIs painstakingly combed through every nook and cranny of the cramped apartment. They found medals hung on his shelf as well as a picture of a little boy, a little girl, and a woman. Stella found the army Swiss knife and the combat boots in the kitchen and Mac found an ax among saws and hammers in his bedroom, Lindsay, she found the souvenirs of his kills, a personal item of the victims, either a necklace, a lock of hair, or an accessory. What ripped Lin apart, was the jade Buddha necklace that had been passed down from her father to her brother.

When they got back to the lab, Mac and Lin stood on the other side of the two-way mirror, watching Don and Danny interrogate Jones, which was a futile waste of energy. Jones denied everything. The tears pent up for so many years finally slipped down her cheek. Lin brushed it away, "After so many years…"

"Reality is never as we dreamed."

"I thought I'd feel satisfied when I saw him in cuffs, but I'm not." She left Mac's side and went into the interrogation room. Danny switched places, "How's she doin'?"

"Better than we can hope and worse than we know," Lindsay answered.

Lin stared at Jones, her eyes narrowed, "Remember me?"

"Ms. Tong, what are you doing here? This is a mistake!"

"My brother was only 2 at the time, he was going to turn 3 in another month." The tears brimmed in her eyes but never spilled. Jones' ice-blue eyes became even more manic, his voice deeper and infinitely chilling, "So you _were_ there that time. I remember now… did you enjoy watching your mommy die, screaming with terror?" Lin scoffed, "My mom died more honorably than you ever could. I bet you didn't expect me to hunt you down after so many years did you?"

He growled menacingly, "Your mother died like the bitch she was. You know, we're very much the same. You and me, both, we're loners. We both love revenge. You can't deny you wanted my blood, just like I wanted my father's when he butchered my ma right in front of me and my little sister. Then he raped my little sister the night she turned twelve, oh, then I got real mad. I killed that bastard in the basement the same way he killed Emily. I was 16, and what a sweet 16 that was." Don felt the bile rise in his throat.

"I am nothing like you," Lin replied quietly, calmly, "because I can never live with my conscience knowing I destroyed happy innocent families because of jealousy and hatred. I bet that's why you always chose a family of four, and always on a rainy night, because that was the night your mom died and because you hated that they had a caring father, you were jealous that they had a mother to love them, and you hated them because that was how you and Emily should have been. Instead, your father abused you and your sister, and your mom tried to protect you. That's why you always ended the mother last, as a test, to see if they would be selfish and protect themselves above their children."

"They were all just exceptions to the rule!"

"So because your mom gave up and tried to leave for help that made her selfish?"

He sneered, "Is that what you did?"

"I did as my mom told me to do, and with her dying breath, she said nothing about revenge, she simply told she loves me. And I know, that all she ever wanted was for me to be happy. I can finally sleep tonight, but can you? You still miss your mom, otherwise you wouldn't have tattooed a rose to your heart."

He snorted, "What do you know, little girl, I have the rose to remind me that all woman are traitors, the kids would just suffer, I put them out of their misery."

"I just want to know why, why my family, why my brother? All those families were innocent, their only wrong, was to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"No, that's fate, I'm simply doing God's work, sending His message."

"You are one sick puppy," Don said.

"You have no right, _no_ one has the right to determine who lives and who dies. You're not god, and you certainly are no saint."

The color of his eyes shifted again, and this time, though his voice was no less creepy, there was an added element of apathy in his tone, "That's cause God doesn't exist. They got in my way, so they died."

"In the end, we all paid our price, but did you ever stop to think about whether the cost was worth it. Because I don't think it was." Jones' eyes changed once more back into its normal haze of ice-blue, he blinked as remorse flooded his face, "I am _so_ sorry, I couldn't control them! I tried, I tried _so_ hard, but they wouldn't leave me alone! I'm sorry about your family, I couldn't do anything. You have to believe me, I couldn't!" Tears streamed down the veteran's face now, and suddenly, Lin didn't see the psychopathic killer anymore, she say a damaged little boy with every line of his 51 years weighed heavily by the horror of his experiences, "I believe you," she whispered as he was led out the door in cuffs by a deputy.

* * *

1 month later

* * *

"It's finally over," Lin said to her mom. For the first time in years, Lin let the tears fall, let her grief show, "I told you I wouldn't let him go so easily, bro, and I did it. I promised I would, and now I hope that the three of you can rest in peace. I miss you, Daddy, I miss you all so very much. I wish you could be here right now, but I know that you'll be watching over me. I love you."

Lin knelt on one knee in the grass in front of her mom's grave, smiling her first genuine smile, staying there for a little longer to let the sun dry her tear-stained face. She got up and headed towards Alexx and Horatio, but not before giving her family one long look. When she thought about it later, she could have sworn she'd seen a glimmer of light – and her mother standing by their graves, smiling.

In the end, everything had come full circle, and though Lin would always have that empty spot in her heart, she knew that they were alive as long as she kept loving them.

* * *

Author's Note: tear "The Wings of a Whisper is finally over, watch for "Past, Present, and Future". I hope you all enjoyed that story and shed a few tears. Lin's next adventure: a hunting trip to find Helen Rothrah's missing husband – in Spain! There, she teams up with The Unit.


End file.
